Welcome to Our Life
by shygirl1
Summary: AU. What if Max and her family hadn't escaped Manticore in 2009?
1. Chapter 1: Max X5 452

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: This is an idea that's been floating in my head and refuses to go away. This is a 'what-if-they-didn't-escape' AU story. This is a different AU than the other one that I'm working on, but most of the same original characters from that AU such as Becky, Wayne, etc., will be in this AU as well. Jack and Eva are both still alive in this AU. This starts at about the beginning of the pilot (when they escaped) so maybe spoiler-ish stuff for that episode. I'm going to at least start out writing this fic in first person P.O.V.

**Chapter 1: Max (X5-452)**

I hate seizures. I bit my lip and prayed for it to end. I tried to breathe in as deeply as I could and eventually I could feel the seizures pass. I just lay there for a few minutes and waited for the last of the trembling to be over. They better find a cure for these seizures soon. We've had some close calls lately. Yesterday, Jack had gotten a bad one and had barely managed to keep it under control until we'd gotten back here to our barracks.

I heard a noise to my left and I looked over and I saw Jondy stir and blink her eyes and look over at me. "Are you okay, Maxie?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured her. "It's over. It wasn't that bad."

"That's good," Jondy said. We both looked over at the clock on the wall. "0230. We've got four hours until we're supposed to get up." Her eyes lit up wickedly. "Let's go to the bathroom and soak some paper towels and dump them on Jace!"

"I'd do it if it wouldn't wake Zack up and make him angry at us," I said. I smiled. "We should wait until at least 0530 to do that."

"You are so bad," Jondy said, giggling.

"You're worse," I said, also giggling.

"Hey, what about me?" Rena asked from her bunk.

"Ooops, did we wake you up?" Jondy asked.

"Yeah, but it's okay," Rena said. "I've already gotten some sleep and I've still got a few hours to get some more." She got up from her bunk and walked over to us and sat down next to me on my bunk. "What are you guys talking about?"

"We're planning on getting Jace later," I said.

"Can we get Syl while we're at it?" Rena asked hopefully.

"Maybe," I said. "Look at the weather outside. It looks like it's going to snow."

"And snow something fierce," Jondy said. She smiled proudly. "I got that slang right, didn't I, Rena?"

"Yeah, you did," Rena said. "Maxie, what do we have on our schedule for tomorrow?"

"After breakfast, all of us are going to run the obstacle course and other outside exercise from 0800 until 0900," I said. "Then from 0915 until 1115, Zack, Tinga, Kenny, and Zane have live ordinance, Elle, Ben, Reese, you, and Wayne have Psychological Warfare, Gale, Syl, Parker, Jace, and Brin have Language, and Jack, Eva, Jondy, Krit, and I have Field Med. From 1130 until 1230 we've got the briefing on the training mission, then lunch, and then at 1330 we meet outside by Yard A for the training mission that's supposed to take all afternoon and we go to dinner immediately after that. From 1900 until 2100 we've all got martial arts, and finally from 2115 until 2215 we have an hour in the library to go over our lessons." I grinned. "We actually have forty-five minutes free before lights out!"

"Easy day," Jondy said. She sighed. "I was hoping we'd go parachuting again."

"We might have another run in a few days maybe a week at most," Rena said. "If I'm lucky, I won't be sent on a mission so I won't miss it."

"Quit bragging about how you can go on missions and Max and I aren't cleared yet," Jondy said. She stuck her tongue out at Rena. "Besides, you've only gone out on two so far counting your probation mission and all you did there was the dirty work for that group from X4 Unit 8. Even on your second mission, you were with Zack and Tinga and Zane and Gale. It wasn't solo."

Rena stuck her tongue out at Jondy. "You know that none of us will be cleared for solo missions until we're about seventeen, give or take a few months."

I was laughing when suddenly I heard faint sirens coming from the outside. I motioned to Jondy and Rena and we snuck to the nearest window and looked out. "Can you guys see anything?" I whispered.

Jondy shook her head. "Not a thing." We heard a soft noise behind us and we turned our heads at the same time and saw Zack standing behind us.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. "None of us can see anything from here."

Zack nodded and motioned for Rena to move out of the way so that he could have a look, which she did. He zoomed in but he also shook his head. "I can't see anything either."

"This is really odd," Jondy said. She sucked in a breath. "I hear snowmobiles. They're heading in all directions away from the building."

"I hear them too," I agreed. Something caught my eye and I zoomed in and I gasped. Running across the snow and heading towards the perimeter fence and the woods was a soldier. Not just a soldier, but another X5. "Zack, Jondy, Rena, do you see that?"

"Oh my God," Zack realized. "Some X5s are escaping."

I noticed the edge in his voice and the look in his eyes. "You're jealous."

Zack looked at me in the eye. "Aren't you?"

I thought about it. Maybe I am jealous. Life here is horrible. The training, the experiments, everything…I just have the feeling that it's not supposed to be like this. I mean, we are kids. I know that Zack and Tinga are teenagers, but that's still not adults. They've been on more missions than the rest of us who have gone on them and they've both said that they never saw other kids like this.

Rena looked at us and like she and Ben usually like to do, tried to lighten the mood. "Wow, somebody beat Zack to an idea. There goes his month." It worked, at least for Jondy and me. We both giggled while Zack glared at Rena.

"That's enough, Rena," he said. He focused his attention back on the window and we continued to try to follow the X5. "Come on, make it, make it…"

"He or she didn't," Jondy said quietly as we saw the X5 become surrounded by guards a few yards short of the perimeter fence. He or she tried to fight them off, but the soldier was hit by a taser and taken away back towards the building.

"Was that X5 the only one who tried to escape?" I wondered.

Zack shrugged. "Who knows? We probably won't find out until the morning." We stood up. "Get back into your bunks and at least try to sleep."

"Yes, sir," we said. We crawled into our bunks and lay there. Rena and Zack both fell asleep again, but Jondy and I just lay there, either staring at the ceiling or each other or in the direction of the window. I knew that I should try to sleep since I did have a seizure, but my adrenaline was pumping from seeing that X5 try to escape.

"I wish that X5 had made it," Jondy whispered.

"Me too," I whispered back. We continued to lay in our bunks silently for awhile longer before we heard footsteps coming towards our barracks. Several pairs of footsteps. Jondy and I looked at each other nervously and then our door was slammed open, waking up everybody. We all sat up straight in our bunks as Colonel Lydecker entered the room. I swear, I've never seen him look that angry before.

"We have a situation," he said. "X5-599 will taken for an indeterminate period of time. X5-452, you will be in command of the unit until his return. X5-656, you will be 452's second-in-command." He made a motion and three of the guards who had accompanied Lydecker stepped forwards and over to Zack's bunk. Two of them grabbed Zack and hauled him out of his bunk while the third held a Taser out at him. I saw Zack tense and start to struggle out of reflex, but I shot him a worried look and he relaxed a little and let the guards usher him out of the room. Lydecker and the other guard who was with him also left the room, closing the door behind them.

"What's going on?" Tinga asked. "Max, do you know what's happening? Why did they take Zack?"

"I don't know exactly," I said. "But a little while ago, he and Jondy and Rena and I saw another X5 escaping. The sirens were on outside and everything. The X5 was captured, though. Maybe that has something to do with why they took Zack."

"Where are they taking him?" Ben asked.

I sighed. "I wish I knew." I shook my head. "I don't think that we're going to know anything until sometime in the morning at the earliest. Let's try to get some sleep." They all nodded and lay back down in their bunks, but I didn't see any of them go back to sleep, at least not right away. I also lay down, just as awake as the rest of my brothers and sisters. _Don't be gone for too long, Zack,_ I thought. _Please don't let anything happen to him!_

TBC


	2. Chapter 2: Jack X5 417

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Possibly more spoiler-ish stuff for the pilot/various season 1 episodes.

**Chapter 2: Jack (X5-417)**

There was definitely a surreal feeling among all of us as we went through our usual morning routine. We got up with the morning bugles as usual, we showered and dressed as usual, and we marched out for line up and roll call as usual. The only problem was that Zack was not with us. He hadn't been returned to us when we'd gotten up and we couldn't look around for him during roll call and line up because it only would have gotten us a good yelling at from the trainers, who all seemed to be in an unusually bad mood this morning. I made extra sure to keep my eyes glued at that one point ahead of me and my posture extra straight.

One thing I did notice, though, was that when they did roll call for us X5s, Unit 7 was missing. Not only that, but not one of the commanding officers was present for line up and roll call. This was really weird. I didn't know what was going on. We were lined up in rank order, which meant that I was at the end of our line so I couldn't quite catch Max's eye and see if she had an idea as to what was going on. I quickly glanced next to me to Parker, who barely shook his head and we quickly snapped back to full attention before the trainers could catch us.

"Okay, you dumb little maggots!" one of the trainers yelled after the last X5 in Unit 8's designation had been called. "You may report to the mess hall for breakfast. Immediately after breakfast, you are all to report to Lecture Hall 5 for an emergency briefing. If anybody is absent, they will be severely punished! Now, move!"

We all turned around and went back inside of the building. "Maybe we'll finally have some answers," Brin said. "This is getting really creepy."

"It's definitely getting creepy," Tinga agreed. "But we can't do anything about it until somebody actually tells us something."

"Why couldn't they have told us while we were in line up?" Wayne asked.

"I don't know," Max said. She shrugged and brightened a little bit. "Maybe the commanding officers will be there and they want to wait for them. Maybe we'll get Zack back at this emergency briefing. I mean, if it is an emergency, then they'll want every soldier to be there."

We went into the cafeteria and got our breakfasts and sat down at our usual table and started to eat. I took one spoonful of my oatmeal and I looked up and around the cafeteria and I frowned. The X5 commanding officers weren't the only ones who were missing. I looked over at where X6 Unit 1 was sitting and I saw that their C.O., 405, wasn't there like she usually was. I looked over to where X6 Unit 2 was sitting and their C.O., 183, was also missing. I continued looking around and I saw that none of the X6 commanding officers were present. I blinked. "You guys, none of the X6 C.O.s are here either."

"You've got to be kidding me," Max said. She took a look around and her eyes widened. "You're right!"

"That's it, I'm definitely getting scared," Elle said.

"Don't get scared yet," Max said. "Remember that phrase that Zane heard on that mission that he went on: No news is good news. We wait until we've heard something first."

"Yes…Zack," Ben said, adding the last part under his breath, but still just loud enough for us to hear and we all laughed.

Max blinked. "You're right, I did sound a lot like him just then."

"He better get back here and take command of us again if for no other reason that it might stop Max from talking like him," Kenny teased.

"Yeah," Krit agreed. "I don't like the way she sounds normally."

Max rolled her eyes. "I'm going to kick all of your butts later when I get the chance."

"There's our Maxie," Ben said. "I knew that she was in there somewhere."

We finished our breakfasts and we lined up and marched over to lecture hall 5 and inside. We were one of the first units there, so we actually found seats towards the front. We looked on as not only did the other X5 units with the exception of Unit 7 march in, but all of the X6 units as well.

"I wonder why there are here," Eva said. Max started to reply, but we all suddenly quieted down and sat up straight in our seats as Colonel Lydecker came into the room. He stopped behind the podium and looked right at us. He looked just as angry as he had been the night before when he had taken Zack and I started to get pretty nervous.

"There has been an emergency situation," he said. "By now, you should all have noticed the absence of X5 Unit 7. Last night, at approximately 0230 hours, X5 Unit 7 attempted to go AWOL from the facility."

That shocked everybody, even us. We knew that one X5 had been running and had attempted to escape, but a whole entire unit? All fifteen members of Unit 7 had attempted to escape? How many got out? Did any of them succeed? I kind of hoped that they did.

Colonel Lydecker just glared at us, so none of us voiced our shock out loud. "Out of the fifteen members of Unit 7, only three made it across the perimeter fence. Five were killed as they resisted the efforts of the TAC teams to bring them back in and the other seven were brought back successfully. All seven remaining members of Unit 7 will be held in Psychological Operations for a period to be determined."

I wasn't nervous anymore, I was scared out of my mind. Psy Ops? Nobody in their right mind wanted to go to Psy Ops, and Unit 7 or what was left of it was stuck there for Blue Lady knows how long? Yikes! I remember back in October when Dash had died, they had taken Syl to Psy Ops since she had fired the shot that had accidentally killed Dash and had kept her there for a full month, even though it was an accident. Syl was a mess when she had finally returned to our barracks that one night before lights out and it was months before she seemed completely like her old self.

"Also, all other X5 and X6 commanding officers are not present as well," Colonel Lydecker continued. "We have determined that the plan to go AWOL was conceived by the commanding officer of Unit 7, X5-333. As a precaution, every X5 and X6 commanding officer has also been taken to Psychological Operations for a period of no less than three months."

Whoa! Zack was in Psy Ops? How dare they! I don't get angry very often, if ever, but there was no question about how furious I was now. Zack didn't do anything! And those poor X6 C.O.s. The X6s were still ranked among their units in age order, so those C.O.s were only six. Six years old and in Psy Ops! Who would do—that's right, Lydecker just did that very thing.

"Let me make this extremely clear to all of you," Colonel Lydecker said. "We will be watching you all very, very closely. If we catch even the slightest hint of behavior similar to that displayed by Unit 7, you will be sent to Psychological Operations _immediately_. No exceptions. The surviving members of Unit 7 are traitors. They will remain traitors and will be considered by each and every one of you as such until they have successfully completed reindoctrination. Am I making myself clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" all of us yelled.

"Very well," Colonel Lydecker said. "You may all go to your regularly scheduled activities. Remember that we will be watching each and every one of you." He nodded. "You are all dismissed."

"Sir, yes, sir!" we all yelled again. We saluted him and got up and left the lecture hall.

"He's going to be in Psy Ops for months," Jace whimpered as we headed outside.

"Don't worry," Max said. "This is Zack. He's going to be absolutely fine. There's nothing that Zack can't handle and that includes Psy Ops."

"I can't believe that they didn't succeed," Jondy said quietly.

"Three of them still made it," Max pointed out just as quietly. We lined up and were quiet as the trainer approached us, though we managed to sneak quick glances at each other. I knew that things had changed around here. I hoped we could handle it.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3: Gale X5 831

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for various season 1 episodes.

**Chapter 3: Gale (X5-831)**

We marched to the outdoor rifle range for a group lesson there, our mood better than it had been recently. We've been slowly cheering up with every day that goes by because we know that it shouldn't be long until Zack gets back to us from Psy Ops. I still can't believe that they threw him in there because of 333! I should cool it down, like Max says sometimes. We don't know what happened with Unit 7 and why they decided to try to run. I know how much all of us hate Manticore and our lives here. Personally, running wouldn't be such a bad idea. Not that it would happen any time soon with how they've been watching us. Maybe Unit 7 had it worse than us somehow. I don't know.

"It should only be another week," Max said happily as we arrived at the range and sat down on a bench and waited for the trainer to show up. "In exactly a week it will be three months since Unit 7 tried to escape from here and then we should get Zack back."

"I can't wait," Syl agreed.

"Have any of you heard anything in your morning classes about why the power went out for a few minutes late last night?" Jondy asked.

All of us shook our heads. "I haven't heard anything," Zane said. "Nobody in my IT class had a clue. Not even the trainers knew the cause."

"I didn't hear anything in Basic Psychology," Ben said.

"And I didn't hear anything in Advanced Weaponry either," I said. "I'm sorry, Jondy."

"It's okay," Jondy said. She shrugged.

"Whatever happened, it happened," Tinga said. She looked over at a unit of X6s as they went outside for an exercise. "Those poor kids. If it's hard for us X5s to have our C.O.s stuck in Psy Ops for the past few months, imagine how hard it is for them. They're so young."

"They're not that much younger than I am, at least the oldest ones aren't," Krit said.

"Even so," Tinga said. "Poor kids."

"They all seem to be keeping it together, though," I said.

"Do they have a choice?" Tinga reminded me.

"True," I admitted. I could easily remember back to when I was the same age as the X6s. Even when I was two years old and had just joined my family, I wasn't allowed to show anything ever.

"Hey, I might have found out something that should make at least some of us very happy," Max said. She grinned. "I was walking to the cafeteria for lunch from my tactics class and I heard these two trainers talking and they're going to let all X5 and younger series with maybe the exception of those X7s because of their weird DNA start growing their hair out at ten years old instead of fourteen like the X3s and X4s did."

My eyes lit up. I hated getting a buzz cut every week. "Are you serious, Maxie?"

"Definitely," Max said. "They said that the order will officially be issued tomorrow."

"Yes!" Tinga said happily. "I'm never cutting my hair again or at least for a long time."

"Girls," Kenny said.

"Yeah," Zane said. "Why do girls have to act so...girly?"

"Grow up," Jace said.

"Yeah," Elle agreed. "Do you guys think that I would look good with longer hair?"

"Wow. Unbelievable," Parker said.

"The trainer will be here at any moment so will you please shut up?" Max said. She suddenly perked up and motioned over to where a few trainers were talking quietly, but not quietly enough for us not to hear it. We all listened in on the conversation. Hey, if we didn't listen in on the trainers' conversations once in awhile, how would we learn slang or other useful things?

"I just came straight from Lydecker's office," one trainer said. "He'd been speaking with Marshall in Seattle and Warren in Syracuse. The power only went out there for a few minutes before the generators kicked in so they're both fine and running on schedule, like we are."

"This is unbelievable," another trainer said. "I can't believe those bastards managed to get their hands on something like that. Thank goodness that our equipment was shielded."

"Absolutely," the first trainer agreed. "It's always good to be prepared for anything and I'm sure that this counts as anything."

"I would say that it does," the second trainer said. "Can you imagine what it's like in the cities? Thank goodness that we happen to live on-site. I wouldn't want to deal with that kind of crap."

"I had to go into town early this morning," the first trainer said. "It was a mess out there. Nothing's running at all. Then again, Gillette isn't a big city. I can only imagine that places like LA or New York are already starting to recover. Either that or they're experiencing more chaos because they're so damn big."

"Do you know exactly what weapon was used?" the second trainer asked. "All that I heard was that it was an electromagnetic pulse of some kind."

"Yeah, it was that experimental thing that NASA was developing," the first trainer said. "Remember how I was telling you about it last week? It was designed to be set off in space to completely shut down the electronics of a faulty satellite so that repairs could be made by a crew before it would be restarted. Some terrorist had gotten into that lab down in Florida, stole the device, and then he and his buddies had commandeered some plane and set it off. It wiped out pretty much everything from the East coast to the West coast and from Seattle to LA and from Portland, Maine down to just south of Alexandria, Virginia. The southeast from southern Virginia down to Florida and on west to I believe they said around Albuquerque. The southeast got really lucky."

"Lucky bastards," the second trainer again. "I need to get going. I've got to work with a unit of X5s over at the rifle range over there in a minute. I'll see you later." A moment later, we heard the trainer approach us and we stood up and stood at attention. "It's good to see that you're here and ready to go, you little bastards. Before we begin our work with the new rifles, we will review your skills. You all know the drill. Select a rifle and go to the line and fire at the targets. We will be going in random order." He picked up a clipboard that he had with him and checked something off on it. "831, you will be first."

"Sir, yes, sir!" I said. I saluted the trainer and went over to the rack where some of the rifles were kept and picked out the model that I liked the most. I took a deep breath and went to the line. It's time to focus now, Gale. Forget that Zack's going to be back in a week or so. Forget that you're finally going to be able to grow your hair out. Forget that there's so much chaos going on in the outside world. Just forget. I blew my breath out. Easier said than done.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to HoneyX5-452 and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support! aod78, Zack did not have a twin in the unit that attempted to escape in the first chapter. The only biological sibling that he does have in this fic is Becky, who'll be appearing a little bit later. This will have at least one ship in it and I am leaning for one of them to be Max/Zack. Thank you all so much again!


	4. Chapter 4: Eva X5 766

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 4: Eva (X5-766)**

I yawned and stretched as I heard the bugles wake us up. I grinned. If we were lucky, today would be the day that Zack would come back to us. It's been three months since Unit 7 tried to escape and they took Zack and all those other commanding officers to Psy Ops as a precaution. The members of Unit 7 that hadn't made it over the perimeter fence still haven't come back from Psy Ops. I shudder to think of how they're doing.

"It's a beautiful morning," Jondy said cheerfully as she practically bounced out of her bunk. "Look out of that window. Blue sky, no clouds, it is so gorgeous out there!"

"Calm down," Max said, but she was also grinning. "We'll be going on the parachuting run after breakfast so calm down."

"Calm down? How can you possibly be calm when you're about to do one of the greatest things ever known to mankind?" Jondy asked.

"Does anybody have anything that we can strap her down with?" Tinga asked.

"Leave Jondy alone," Wayne said. "I think that she's right. Parachuting out of an airplane is the biggest thrill ever. I'm glad I don't leave for my probation mission until Wednesday so that I won't miss this."

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"The preliminary briefing I got yesterday said that those X3s and I would be heading out to China," Wayne said. "Manticore got intel that there would be an illegal weapons exchange happening and we need to break it up and return the weapon to the nearest American military base, where it would be shipped back to the lab it had been stolen from in California."

"That sounds like fun," Rena said.

"Your sense of fun is warped sometimes, Rena," Elle said.

"I see nothing wrong with actually getting out of this place for awhile, even if it is only out on a mission," Rena said. "Besides, if the bad guys actually are bad, then it's fun watching them getting theirs."

"I agree," Kenny said. "Hey, Zane, remember that mission that you and I went on and those guys came across one of your special surprises? The looks on their faces when they recognized the explosives were priceless!" He saw the looks on some of the faces of the others and he smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, these guys were about as low as you could get. They were causing unrest in the region and everything that we had been told in our briefing that they had been doing, but when we got to their compound, we came across these poor kids. They were starving them and the X4s on our team said they were using them for other vile things. I asked them what kinds of things, but they didn't want to tell me. It must have been really bad because after some of the X4s entered one of the rooms where some of the kids were being held, they got this really angry look on their faces and they really did a number on the enemies that were in that room with the kids."

Zane nodded. "I remember that mission." He tried to lighten the mood. "You know, Kenny's right. The looks on those guys' faces when they saw one of my 'special bombs' was absolutely perfect. I think they looked something like this." He made a really funny face and a bunch of us laughed.

"Come on, you guys," Max said. She tried to sound commanding, but she had an amused look on her face. "We need to get showered and changed before we have to report out to the field for line up and roll call."

"She's right."

Oh my God! Zack was back! The spilt second that the guard that had brought him back to the barracks had closed the door behind him and was out of earshot, we ran up to Zack and surrounded him. We missed him so much!

"Zack, I've been so worried," Max said. She gave him a big hug. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Maxie," he assured her. "Everybody says I'm good to go."

"Does that mean that you're in charge again?" Ben asked, pretending to be disappointed.

"Yes, it does," Zack said.

"Good," Ben said. He smiled genuinely and gave Zack a hug. "I missed you, big brother."

"I missed you too, Ben," Zack said. "I missed all of you." He caught a glimpse of the clock. "We need to hurry if we're going to be on time for line up and roll call."

Kenny laughed. "It's official. Our big brother is definitely back." We grinned and started to head for the showers. I turned around for a sec and saw Zack looking at us. I saw a look pass through his eyes that worried me a little bit. Max also saw it.

"Zack, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Maxie," he said.

"Psy Ops?" Max said quietly, barely loud enough for me to hear.

"Yeah," Zack replied. I turned around and continued to showers when I heard the two of them following the rest of us. We went through our normal early morning routine like normal, except that most of us were in a jubilant mood because of Zack's return. I was happy, but I couldn't help be worried for Zack. He did just come out of months of Psy Ops. I finished getting dressed for the day and turned to Max.

"Zack's okay, isn't he?" I asked.

"I think he is," Max said. "At the very least, he will be soon. I can't imagine being stuck in Psy Ops for as long as he had been." She sighed. "We'll be there for him."

I giggled. "Whether he wants it or not." Max giggled too. Zack's stubborn streak occasionally bordered on infamous.

"Oh yeah," Max agreed.

"Let's hurry it up," Zack said from where he was standing near the door.

"No doubt about it, he's back," I said.

"Yeah," Max said. Her stomach growled. "And if we don't hurry up, I'm never gonna get breakfast." We giggled again and went over to the door and lined up to go outside.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78, Kelzaa, and lady marauder for their reviews and support!


	5. Chapter 5: Jondy X5 210

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 5: Jondy (X5-210)**

It's pretty nice outside today, but I still frowned a little as I marched with my brothers and sisters outside for lineup and roll call. It was just cold enough to let us know that it wouldn't be too long before it started to snow. Great. I actually don't mind snow, it's training outdoors while it is snowing that's a pain-in-the-neck. You try running the obstacle course here or laps around the facility or complete training missions in the middle of a blizzard. It's not the most fun thing in the world.

We arrived at the yard where the X5s had lineup and roll call and lined up behind Unit 1, like always. It was going to be another boring day, or as boring as it gets around this hellhole. I sighed.

Syl, who was to the left of me in line, rolled her eyes. "Get a grip, Jondy."

"I didn't say anything," I said.

"Actions speak louder than words," Krit, who was on the other side of me in line, teased. I quickly reached over and smacked him across the back of his head.

"Quit it," Zack hissed from his end of the line. "The trainers will be here any minute now."

"Sorry," Krit and I said. Something caught my eye and I glanced over. Suddenly, whatever minimal conversation that had been going on between everybody stopped. It was almost scarily quiet. Why? The seven surviving members of Unit 7 that hadn't managed to escape six months ago were marching out to us. They didn't say anything, but they obviously saw us looking at them. They took their place between Unit 6 and Unit 8 and stood at attention.

"Everybody, eyes front!" a trainer screamed and everybody else snapped to attention. "That's better. Unit 1, 355…"

We waited through roll call and then headed over to the cafeteria to breakfast. I sat down at our table with my tray and looked over to where Unit 7 was sitting and eating. "I can't believe that they're back."

"I don't think anybody can believe that they're back," Elle agreed. "It's been six months. I was starting to think that they would never be coming out of Psy Ops and reindoc."

"Yeah," Zack said quietly. I felt bad for him. I knew he, like the other commanding officers that been taken away the night that Unit 7 had tried to escape, had a hard time in Psy Ops for the three months that he'd been kept there. "Six months in Psy Ops had to have been a killer. Three months were bad enough."

Tinga nodded. "I remember when those X6 C.O.s came out of Psy Ops when you did, the poor things looked almost shell shocked. Almost all of them, anyway. I think the only one that came out of Psy Ops after those three months that didn't look traumatized was 405."

"She's a tough one," Zack said. "We talked for a little while before they threw us in the chairs and after they let us out and were giving us a final checkup in the infirmary before they released us. She's a good kid."

"Unit 7 doesn't look that much better than the majority of the X6 C.O.s did," Ben observed. "They really must have done something to them." He shivered at the thought. I didn't blame him.

"Do you think that they'll try to make another go of it?" Max wondered.

"I don't know," Jace said. "They don't look like they could go a few rounds on the obstacle course, much less try to get out of here."

"I heard that they're still classified as flight risks," Parker said.

"Why would they be classified as flight risks but be released from Psy Ops?" Gale wondered.

Parker shrugged. "I don't know. That's what 673 from Unit 4 was saying to his unit mate 409 during my Field Med class the other day."

"673 doesn't know…" I paused to recall the right phrase. "…his ass from his elbow." All of us girls, myself included, giggled and most of the boys grinned. Even the corner of Zack's mouth twitched a little bit.

"Jondy's personal opinion of 673 aside," he said. "Whatever Unit 7's status is, it's not our business. They're here and we won't treat them any differently than we had treated them before. That's what Colonel Lydecker had said to us." He rolled his own eyes the way he always did whenever he mentioned Colonel Lydecker. None of us like him, but Zack hates him the most. Easily. I think Max might come in a close second, though.

"Yeah," Max said. "Zack, do you think that it's going to be Unit 7 that we're going to be sparring against next in Martial Arts? It's listed as a two-unit class for us today, but the second unit wasn't listed on the schedule."

"Possibly," Zack said. "That would make sense."

"I guess it's time for us to find out," Kenny said as the warning bell rang. We stood up and put our trays and dirty dishes away and marched to the gym and lined up and waited. Sure enough, a few moments later, Unit 7 also entered the gym and lined up opposite us. I looked at them better and I managed to suppress a shudder. They definitely looked like they had a number done on them in Psy Ops. Then the trainer walked in and all twenty-six of us stood at attention for him.

"Let's get things started right away," he said. "Let's evaluate how much Unit 7 needs to catch up with. 599 and 333 to the mats." I watched Zack and Unit 7's C.O. step onto the mats between our unit and theirs. "Begin!"

I managed to keep my soldier face on the outside, but I was definitely wincing on the inside. Zack absolutely massacred 333. On a normal day Zack would still have beaten 333, the only X5 that I've seen beat Zack occasionally is Max, but it was painfully obvious that 333 had missed six months of training. I really felt sorry for 333.

The trainer blew his whistle when Zack won the fight and shook his head as Zack and 333 went back to their respective lines. "That was absolutely pathetic, 333! I don't give a rat's ass if you've missed six months of training, that was still the worst piece of sparring that I have ever seen in my life!"

"I'm sorry, sir!" 333 apologized.

"Sorry does not cut it, you worthless little bastard!" the trainer yelled. He slapped 333 across the face hard. "Regardless of your recent behavior, I still expected you to perform up to the rank that you still hold and you fell far below my expectations! You will not do that again, am I making myself clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" 333 said.

The trainer just looked even angrier and punched 333 in the face. "I did not hear that, you piece of shit!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" 333 yelled.

"That's better. Now let's see if your actions will meet your words," the trainer said. "Return to the mats. 417, to the mats." He blew his whistle again. "Begin!"

Once again, it was a massacre. Jack was definitely not the best at martial arts in our family, he was actually close to the bottom there though he had improved a lot in the last few months, but even he completely dominated 333. I sighed and managed to keep the sympathy that I felt for 333 off of my face as the trainer berated him again. Poor 333. Poor Unit 7. It was not going to be easy for them at all.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Lin, CrimsonReality, and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support!


	6. Chapter 6: Kenny X5 987

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 6: Kenny (X5-987)**

I walked down the street with Zack and Ben, the three of us talking and enjoying ourselves. Well, Ben and I were talking and enjoying myself. Zack was mostly silent, as usual, and I guess he could have been enjoying himself. Ninety-nine percent of the time he doesn't show you what the heck he's feeling. We'd just completed a mission with three other X5s from Unit 4 and we had some off hours before we had to return to where we were staying for the night. Personally, I was happy that I was out of Manticore, at least temporarily.

"I love off hours," Ben said. "It's nice to have some time to just pretend to be normal."

"Absolutely," I agreed. "There's nothing better than not listening to orders."

"Including his?" Ben teased. He pointed to Zack and he and I laughed. Zack gave us his 'I will hurt you' look.

"Will the two of you grow up?" he said.

"If we haven't now, will we ever?" Ben asked cheerfully. I couldn't help laughing. Zack had definitely walked right into that one. Good job, Ben.

"I should just count my blessings and be thankful that as far as we know, you don't have a clone or twin," Zack said.

"Yeah," I said. "Thank goodness that there's only one Ben." Under my breath, I added. "That I will outrank in the unit again one of these days."

"Kenny, admit defeat," Ben said. "I moved ahead of you in rank in the unit fair and square."

"You're fifth and sixth," Zack said. "It's not as if you're fighting for C.O. and second-in-command." His expression for the most part didn't change, but I could have sworn that he had the faintest of smirks on his face. Zack's as competitive as any of us, if not more. He knew how good he was and that it would be close to impossible for us to catch him in rank.

"It's the principle of the thing," I said. I grinned and stuck my hands in my jeans pockets and looked around. Minneapolis had taken a hit from the Pulse, as people have been calling it, but I guess it could have been worse. Then again, it's easy to say that it could have been worse when comparing a place or a situation to Manticore. I mentally shrugged and I was about to say something else to Zack when something caught my eye. "Hey, you guys, does that girl up ahead look familiar to you?"

"Which one?" Zack asked.

"That one," I said. "The really pretty one with the short hair. The one wearing the turtleneck and the pink parka. I swear that I know her from somewhere."

"She does look familiar," Ben agreed. Suddenly, the girl turned around, looking suspicious. She looked around the area before picking up her pace. Ben frowned. "Am I getting paranoid? There's no way that she should have heard us from as far away as she was unless…" It hit us at the exact same time who the girl was. It was X5-836 from Unit 7, one of the three members of that unit who had actually made it over the perimeter fence. We started to walk quicker, keeping pace with her.

"What should we do?" I asked. The three of us knew of the standing order that if anybody were to spot any of the three missing X5s while out on missions, then we were to contact base and bring them in. But now that the situation had actually presented itself, I was starting to feel a little bit nauseous.

Zack bit his lip. I could tell that he and Ben both felt the same way that I did, if not worse. "I don't know. We know our orders, but…"

"I don't think I can," Ben admitted.

We just continued to tail 836 quietly, being careful not to let her see us, but still completely undecided as to what to do. What could we do? I couldn't bring myself to bring her in, Ben couldn't, and Zack couldn't. This was—

"Hey, you guys, what's going on?" a voice said. We turned and saw one of the other X5s on the mission, 272. He looked ahead and saw 836 and his eyes widened as he saw her momentarily pull down the neck on her shirt so she could scratch and he saw the barcode. "It's one of the rogues. We need to call base."

Zack, Ben, and I looked at each other. Finally, after what seemed like forever to the three of us, Zack nodded and pulled out the secure cell phone that Manticore had given him before we had left to go on the mission. He speed dialed a number and waited for somebody to pick it up on the other end.

"599, this is Colonel Lydecker," Lydecker said on the other end. "What is going on?" I winced inside at hearing Colonel Lydecker's voice. There was no getting out of this now for sure.

"We've got a situation, sir," Zack said. "I'm on my off hours with 493, 987, and 272 and we've spotted 836. What are your orders, sir?" We knew exactly what his order would be, but we still had to ask. I briefly closed my eyes and tried to make the urge to strangle Lydecker pass. Take a guess as to how well that worked.

"Subdue 836 and bring her back to your accommodations with you," Lydecker ordered. "When you return to base tomorrow, she is to return with you."

"As ordered, sir," Zack said. "X5-599 out." He disconnected the cell phone and gestured to Ben, 272, and I. We nodded and spread out quietly enough that 836 didn't hear us with the crowd noise. I took a deep breath and tried to shove my uneasiness away, at least for the moment.

"Hey," I said, walking up to 836.

She looked at me suspiciously, but she didn't look frightened. I guess she didn't recognize me with my grown out into a normal length for a guy. "Will you leave me alone?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Because…" 836 started to say. She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence. She noticed Zack coming up behind her, but it was too late. Zack quickly pressed his fingers to either side of her neck and she passed out. He quickly caught her and motioned for the rest of us to follow him. We quickly made our way back to the motel where we were staying and went into the room that 272 and his two unit mates that were also on the mission, 016 and 509, were staying in.

"Whoa," 016 said when she saw us with 836. "Who's that?"

"X5-836," Zack answered. "509, get the cuffs." 509 nodded and reached inside a drawer that was near him and pulled out two sets of handcuffs and tossed them to Zack, who put them on 836's wrists and ankles.

"How did you find her?" 509 asked.

"Luck," I said. "I happened to spot her on the street and then 272 came along and verified the I.D."

"That's the first of the three rogues, isn't it?" 016 asked.

"Yeah, it is," Ben said. "And it's only been nine months since that whole debacle. We should be bringing in 311 and 429 any time now at this rate." He gave the barest of shudders. 016 and 509 probably thought that it was out of disgust of dealing with the rogues, like most of the other soldiers back at Manticore felt about them, but Zack and I knew better.

"We'll rotate shifts on guarding 836," Zack said. "The three of you will take the first watch. In three hours, bring 836 into our room and we'll take the second watch. We'll rotate in this fashion until it's time for us to return to base." 272, 016, and 509 nodded and Zack, Ben, and I walked through the door that connected our room to theirs and as soon as we had closed the door, we sat down on the floor and put our heads in our hands. I couldn't believe that we had done that.

"How can we…" I started to say. I couldn't finish the sentence.

"I wish I knew, Kenny," Zack said quietly.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, hphotshot, lady marauder, and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support!


	7. Chapter 7: Zack X5 599

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 7: Zack (X5-599)**

I sat back in my seat in the van and closed my eyes for a moment. None of us were saying a word. The driver wasn't talking but they never talk. Kenny was sitting next to me, but I knew why he was quiet. Ben and 509 were sitting on either side of 836 on the second seat. Ben was silent for the same reasons and Kenny and I, 509 just wasn't much of a conversationalist to begin with, and 836 was too angry at all of us to talk. 272 and 016 were sitting next to each other in the rear seat and I don't know why they were silent, but I didn't care.

I opened my eyes and looked at the scenery that was passing us by and then I turned my head so I was facing the others except for Kenny. "We should be back to base in a few more minutes."

"Great," 836 said sarcastically. "Back to hell."

I wish that I could tell her that Kenny and Ben and I all felt the same way. "Please stop the attitude," I said gently. "You're only going to make it harder on yourself if you keep it up, 836."

"Why do you care, 599? You were the one who captured me," 836 snapped.

I know. Don't remind me. I couldn't bring myself to reply, but Ben saved me.

"He was under orders," Ben said, also without any malice or venom in his voice. "Every mission-qualified soldier back at base as well at the other two facilities plus you when they clear you for active duty, is under a standing order to bring in any of the rogues if they happen to see them while on a mission once the primary objective is completed."

"Why are you being so nice to the traitor?" 016 asked curiously.

"I am not a traitor!" 836 shrieked.

"836, calm down," I ordered. "016, she's going to be in Psy Ops and reindoc for at least six months." My eyes hardened as I recalled those horrible three months that I had spent in Psy Ops. "She will be going though enough there. They will take care of her."

016 couldn't help shuddering. She herself had spent a week in Psy Ops after nearly botching the first mission that she had been on after her probation mission so she knew very well how bad Psy Ops was. "Point taken, sir."

"Good point, sir," 272 said. 509 also nodded in agreement.

We were all quiet again and soon, we arrived back at Manticore. When the driver parked the van, I opened the side door and we got out and marched to Lydecker's office with Ben and 509 still escorting 836. We waited for the guard standing outside of the office to open the door and then we marched in and stood at attention. Even 836 stood as much at attention as she could in cuffs. "X5-599 reporting as ordered, sir."

Lydecker nodded. "It's good to see that you all accomplished the mission in such an efficient manner. It's very good that you also managed to spot one of the rogue X5s and bring her back." He walked around his desk until he was standing in front of 836. "836, do you have anything that you have to say for yourself before you are escorted to Psychological Operations?"

"Sir, no, sir!" 836 replied.

"Very well," Lydecker said. He walked back to his desk and pressed a button on the phone. "Escort X5-836 to Psychological Operations and then notify me when they begin with her." A minute or two later, two guards entered the room and took 836 away and Lydecker turned his attention back to us. "As for the rest of you, report immediately to Room 20 for your debriefing. You are dismissed."

"Sir, yes, sir!" We saluted Lydecker and marched out of his office and to our debriefing.

The debriefing was the same. Since I was the commanding officer on the mission, I had to do the most talking. I outlined what had happened and I presented the trainers that were debriefing us with the information that we had gathered and we all picked it apart piece by piece. It was tedious, but it was eventually over and we were dismissed. I actually had the rest of the day free.

"We're going over to the rec room," Kenny said. "Do you want to join us?"

"No," I said. I shook my head. "I need to be by myself."

"We'll see you at dinner, then," Ben said. They walked off.

I turned around and left Room 20 and headed down the hall to the library. I hoped that nobody would be in there. I went inside and sighed in relief when I didn't see or hear anybody else. I sat down and rested my arms on the table and rested my head on my arms. I still just couldn't believe that I had actually brought 836 back to Manticore. How could I have done that? I hated Manticore so much and 836 obviously hated it just as much. I wouldn't want to subject anybody to this kind of life that didn't have to be. I really thought that I was going to be sick. Suddenly, I looked up at the doorway and saw a young girl standing there silently. I recognized her a split second later. "405?"

"Am I interrupting you, 599?" she asked. She frowned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. "You can come in if you want."

"Okay," 405 said. She walked inside the library and sat down next to me. "You look sad. I heard that you were going to come back today from a mission, did something go wrong?"

"It depends on your perspective," I said. "Are you supposed to be in a class or on an exercise or training mission?"

"My unit had a training mission, but we ended up finishing it early so they gave us the rest of the time until dinner off," 405 said.

I nodded. I took a good, long look at her. "405, can you keep a secret? You can't tell a single person about this, not even 115."

405 nodded. She looked very serious. "I can keep a secret."

"Thank you," I said. I took a deep breath. I had a feeling that I could trust 405. She never struck me as being like most of the other X-series. "While we were on our off hours yesterday, 987, 493, and I spotted one of the rogues."

"Whoa," 405 said. "Which one?"

"836," I told her.

"Did you bring her in?" she asked.

"We did, but…I didn't want to," I said.

"Why not?"

I sighed. "I hate Manticore. I've hated it here for so long. It's all I've ever known and I guess I just accepted it when I was little, but then I started to realize how wrong everything was. Why were we hit and even beaten occasionally when we had an off day during training? If we were soldiers and so were the guards, how come none of the guards were our age or even the age of the X3s and X4s? Why were we tortured in Psy Ops? Why would they rather let us possibly drown in the tank rather than let us out when we were having trouble?" I saw how 405's grey eyes hardened when I said that. "405?"

"It wasn't possibly," she said. "Not for my unit. A year ago, when we were in the tank, my unit mate 607 drowned. Our target time that day was three-and-a-half minutes and about two-and-a-half minutes in, I saw that 607 was starting to have trouble. I signaled to the trainers that he was struggling, but they just shook their heads and by the time they released us, 607 just floated up to the top of the tank and I remember 115 tried to give him CPR, but it was too late by then."

"I'm so sorry," I said.

"Thank you," 405 said. "Since then especially, I've been starting to wonder about things along the same lines that you have been. I just don't get it, 599."

"Maybe one day we will," I said. "If we're lucky."

405 nodded. "Are you sure that you'll be okay?"

"I think I will be okay eventually," I said honestly. "This guilt isn't going to go away for awhile. I still just don't know. I don't know how long it's going to be before I can think of this or not look at 836 or even 272 from Unit 4 since we wouldn't have brought 836 back if 272 hadn't seen her as well. It's going to be a long ride."

"Well…you can talk to me again if you like," 405 said helpfully.

I couldn't help smiling. "Thank you, 405." She really was a great kid. "Can you keep another secret?"

"Sure," 405 said. "What is it?"

"My unit and I, we're more than a unit," I said. "We consider ourselves a family. Brothers and sisters."

"Like a real family?" 405 said.

"Almost," I said. "None of us are related to each other by blood." I paused for a moment. "Except possibly Max and Krit. They look so much alike, I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be related by blood."

"Who's Max and Krit?" 405 wondered.

"That's the other part of the secret," I said. "We gave each other names, just like real people. We are soldiers, but soldiers are also people and people have names. Max is 452 and Krit is 471." I smiled. "My name is Zack."

"That's nice," 405 said honestly. She also smiled. "That fits you." She looked at me hopefully. "Can I have a name, too? I promise that I won't tell it to anybody."

"Of course," I said. I looked at her for a few moments before the right name came to me. "How about Becky?"

She thought about it and smiled even wider. "I love it. Thank you, Zack."

"You're welcome, Becky," I said. I looked at my watch. "The bell for dinner is going to ring soon. We should probably start walking over to the cafeteria."

"Okay," Becky said. We smiled at each other again and we left the library.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to lady marauder, Geminangel, and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support!


	8. Chapter 8: Elle X5 164

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appear on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Maybe some spoiler-ish stuff for "Fuhgeddaboudit."

**Chapter 8: Elle (X5-164)**

"I can't believe that we're finally getting our seizures fixed," Gale said. She grinned. "This has to be one of the best days of our lives."

"Yeah, not to mention the fact that we're all going to be down for a full week after the treatment," Kenny teased, but I could tell that he was nervous.

"Oooh, is somebody nervous?" Krit teased.

"Well, they are going to zap or slice my brain in the next few minutes or hours," Kenny said. He shivered nervously. "This will work, won't it?"

"It apparently worked for the two X3 units and the one X6 unit that went before us," Zack said. "After they were cleared for active duty again they all seemed to be fine. I haven't noticed any of them having seizures since, but I think all of us try to hide our seizures when we do have them, not just us."

"We've had some good ones, haven't we?" I said sarcastically.

"We've definitely had some close calls," Max said. "Like the night before Unit 7 tried to make their break from here, Jack's seizure?"

"I still can't believe that I managed to keep it under control until we got to the barracks," Jack said. He shook his head. "I was on the ground the second that Zack shut the door behind us. How long was it before the seizure stopped? It must have been a good five or ten minutes."

"And then you slept really well that night," Wayne said. "I had a harder time getting you out of bed the next morning than we normally do with Krit."

"It must have done some good because I've only had one mild seizure since then," Jack said. He grinned. "And now I won't have any more."

"Does anybody have any idea how this will work?" Rena asked.

Zack shrugged. "I don't know. Wayne, do you have any idea how this is going to work?"

"I've got as much of an idea as you do," Wayne said. "I even asked one of the X3s who'd had the treatment and she told me that they put you under before they do the treatment who nobody outside of the medical staff knows how this is going to work."

"That's good to know," Syl said.

"Would you rather be awake when they could possibly be performing brain surgery on you?" Wayne pointed out. "You know, there are actually some forms of surgery of other treatments where the skull is opened where you're completely awake. I read about it in one of my medical textbooks. It's actually pretty cool."

"Speaking of cool, thank you so much for the contraband that you snuck back here from your last mission, Tinga," I said. I grinned. "I love that magazine."

"You're welcome," Tinga said. "I thought that it would be something that you'd like."

"I don't get those things," Parker said. He made a face.

I rolled my eyes. "It's a magazine for girls, you moron. You're not supposed to get it."

"Are they going to do this treatment on all of us at once or are we going in one at a time or a few at a time?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Max said. "I guess we'll see when we'll see."

A doctor stepped into the infirmary waiting room with a clipboard. "We've got the first several tables set up." She looked down at her clipboard. "X5-599, X5-656, X5-987, and X5-205, please come with me."

"Good luck," I said to Zack, Tinga, Kenny, and Zane as they stood up and went to follow the doctor.

"Thank you," Tinga said. The boys just smiled nervously and then they went into another room in the infirmary with the doctor.

"Are you sure that you're not really a Psy Ops soldier prototype, Maxie?" Krit teased.

"No, you moron," Max said. She stuck her tongue out at Krit. "If I could do that whole telecoercion deal that I heard that some of them can do, you would be shutting up right now."

"Are they being used in Psy Ops yet?" Syl asked.

"Not that I've heard," Eva said. "I think that I heard that they're still training and they'll be ready to be used in Psy Ops and in field interrogations starting sometime in 2014."

"How old are they?" Jondy wondered.

"I think that they're close to our age," I said. "I wonder why they haven't been used in Psy Ops yet."

"Who knows? Maybe that kind of training is different than ours," Ben said.

We were quiet for a few moments. "Well, I don't hear any of them screaming in there. That's got to be a good sign for us," Parker said helpfully.

I rolled my eyes but I couldn't help laughing a little. "Yeah, that is a good sign." We did hear a faint scream and we all briefly tensed, but then we relaxed. "Phew. That wasn't them." I made a face. "They're probably doing an experiment with one of the X6s."

"Poor guy," Rena said. "Thank goodness that they've slowed down the experiments with us."

"I know," Max said. "They haven't done any experiments on me in about seven months. I'm grateful."

"I think we all are," Ben said. "Thank the Blue Lady."

We all nodded and looked over as another doctor entered the room. "We're ready to start with the next group. X5-164, X5-493, X5-552, X5-120, and X5-369, please come with me."

Ben, Reese, Rena, Wayne, and I stood up and looked back at the others. "We'll see you guys in recovery later," Reese said.

"Good luck," Jack said.

"Thanks," I said. We followed the doctor into another room. He split us up and led me over to a curtained-off section of the infirmary and gestured for me to lay down on the operating table that was in the middle of the section.

"Thank you, 164," he said. He set up the IV and put a rubber mask over my nose and mouth. "Start counting backwards from a thousand. By the time that you wake up in recovery, your seizures will be a thing of the past."

"I hope so," I said nervously. The doctor smiled and walked over to speak to another doctor. I began to count to myself. One thousand…nine hundred ninety-nine…nine hundred ninety-eight…

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to I Estel vinta amarbarenna lomeo O Duath, angelofdarkness78, and CrimsonReality for their reviews and support! It means a lot to me.


	9. Chapter 9: Tinga X5 656

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 9: Tinga (X5-656)**

I stood in front of the mirror and brushed my hair and smiled. It was getting kind of long and I absolutely loved it. I put my brush down and reached for the rubber band that I'd left on the sink and pulled my hair up and into a ponytail and checked it to make sure that no strands of hair had gotten loose. Perfect.

"Tinga, hurry up," Max said from where she was waiting by the door. "If we're not out of this bathroom in the next few minutes, Zack will come in here even if this is a girl's room."

"Don't bother hurrying up," Rena said. She snickered. "I'd love to see the look on Zack's face if he does that."

"Relax, Rena," I said. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm ready." I grabbed my things and I followed my sisters out of our bathroom. I went to put my things back in their drawer and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zane shaking his head.

"Why do you always take a long time in the bathroom?" he asked.

"They're girls. Don't bother trying to figure it out or you'll get a migraine," Reese said. "Just be happy that they put in that second bathroom last year and gave it to them and leave it at that."

"I know that you guys are nervous about them putting up the squad rankings today, but you don't have to take it out on us," Rena said.

"Stop it, you guys," Zack said.

"Said the squad commander who has nothing to gain or lose from them posting the entire squad rankings today," Kenny said sarcastically, but I could easily hear the nervousness in his voice and I think everybody else did, too.

"Relax, Kenny," Max said. "I'm sure that you made it into the top sixteen and got officer status. Now please stop being an asshole?"

That got a few snickers from us and even Kenny grinned. "Anything for you, Maxie."

"Come on," Zack said. He looked at the clock on our wall. "The results were going to be posted at dawn and we've still got plenty of time before we have to be outside for lineup and roll call. If you guys are all ready right now, we can leave and pass by the board on our way out."

I don't think I've ever seen us tie our boot laces and rush to the door of the barracks any faster than we did just then. Once we'd lined up, Zack led us out of the barracks. As we approached the bulletin board where they had posted the rankings, I didn't hear any other X5s nearby and I grinned. We walked up to the board and took a look and I held my breath as I looked up at the squad rankings list. 599 C.O...452 2IC...241 third...656 fourth! I put my hands over my mouth to keep from squealing out loud. I was ranked fourth in the entire squad of X5s here! I couldn't believe it.

"Holy shit, I'm fifth!" Zane said. He turned around exchanged high fives with Krit and Wayne.

Max leaned forward to look at the rankings and grinned. "Guys, we've got six of the top ten and eight of the top sixteen. Zack's first, I'm second, Tinga's fourth, Zane's fifth, Ben's seventh, Kenny's eighth, Rena's tenth, Brin's twelfth, and Wayne's fifteenth. Not bad."

"Not bad? That's fucking awesome!" Kenny said.

"I'll say. I still outrank you," Ben said.

Jack leaned forward to take a look and he smiled. "Eighty-ninth. I'm happy with that."

"Come on," Zack said, though he looked as happy as he ever gets. "Let's get out to the yard for lineup and roll call."

We marched out to the yard and waited through lineup and roll call, finally allowing ourselves to smile once we got to the cafeteria and sat down at our table. "This is amazing. I can't believe that we all did as well as we did," I said. "I'm so proud of everybody."

"Thanks," Jack said. "I'm happy that I made my goal of not having my squad rank in the triple digits."

"And it can only go up," Elle said. "You're improving every day."

Jace looked up at that moment and saw Unit 7 enter the cafeteria. "Did any of you see how Unit 7 did in the rankings?"

"Not very well," Max said. "333 only ranked fifty-seventh, the worst out of any of the commanding officers. I think a few of them were even in the bottom quarter and that's not including 574 who's Blue Lady-knows-where right now."

"It's been almost two years since we brought back 836 and it's been a few months since those X3s came across 429. Do you guys think that they'll find 311 soon?" Parker asked.

"I don't know," I said. "It depends on how careful that 311 is. If 311 is as careless as 429 had been when he had been caught and brought back here, then it won't be too long before all of the surviving members of Unit 7 are back. If not, it could be a long time if ever."

"That could--" Eva stopped in mid-sentence when everybody in the cafeteria was distracted by the thump of a body hitting the floor. We turned and saw that Unit 1's commanding officer, 355, had collapsed. We all looked at each other worriedly as a crowd began to form around 355.

"Everybody back up right now!" a guard yelled. He picked up his radio and called for assistance.

"Is she seizing?" Gale asked. "Our seizures were fixed!"

"From what I can see, she doesn't look like she's having a seizure," Krit said. He was standing on his chair and peeking over everybody's shoulders.

"What can you see, Krit?" Syl asked.

"I don't know," Krit said. "I think she's sick for sure, though. 637 just checked her for a fever and I think that she does have one." He turned to the door and pointed. "I think the calvary's here." Sure enough, a team from the infirmary rushed into the cafeteria and put 355 on the stretcher that they'd brought with them and took her away and after a few moments, things returned to close to normal, though everybody was quieter.

"I wonder why she was sick," Brin said.

"I don't know," Zack said.

"I hope it's something isolated that can't happen to any of us," Max said.

"I hope so, too," I agreed.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to Estel Duath, CrimsonReality, and angelofdarkness78 for their reviews and support!


	10. Chapter 10: X6 367

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Cold Comfort."

**Chapter 10: X6-367**

I lay down in my bunk and waited patiently for the guard to walk a safe distance away from the barracks. When he was finally away, I slipped out of my bunk and arranged everything to look like I was still in my bunk and sleeping. I can't wait until I'm thirteen and I can leave my barracks at night to go to the gym or somewhere else in the building like the older X-series who also have shark DNA can. I looked around to make sure that everybody else was sleeping and then I crept over to the door. I paused, and held my breath and waited for 405 to ask me where I was going, but I didn't hear anything so I opened the door and let my breath out after I'd shut it closed.

"I can't believe that she didn't wake up," I said to myself as I walked down the hallway. I shrugged and continued on my way. I hoped that 887 was still awake in the infirmary. We'd had Escape and Evade against Unit 2 this morning and when 887 had run into one of their members, he'd been injured badly enough to need surgery. I hadn't had time to give 887 a quick visit earlier so I'd decided earlier to sneak out to see him.

I made it to one of the entrances to the infirmary and slipped inside. I hid behind some equipment and waited for some nurses to pass by before I made my way over to where 115, who had visited 887 earlier, had said his bed was. I finally pushed aside the curtain and stood next to 887. "Hey, it's me. Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake," 887 said. "You didn't wake me up or anything. I'm really bored."

"And you don't feel like getting something to make you sleep?" I guessed.

"No," 887 said. "I don't like whatever medication they use. I feel so groggy when I finally do wake up." He smiled. "Speaking of waking up, did 405 wake up when you were sneaking out of the barracks or did you actually managed to sneak over here under her radar?"

I giggled. "She didn't wake up when I left to come over here. I don't think she would have said anything other that 'try not to get caught' if I told her where I was going."

"Yeah, she's usually understanding," 887 said.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. "Does your arm hurt or has your pain medication not worn off yet?"

"It's starting to ache again," 887 said. "I guess I'll probably have to pretend that I just woke up and ask a nurse or a doctor for something after all so you might have to leave pretty soon. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I said. "I understand." I looked over at him. "Hey, since you've been here, have you heard anything about that X5 who'd collapsed in the cafeteria this afternoon at lunch?"

887 shook his head. "I haven't heard anything. I guess the X5 must be over in a different area of the infirmary." He grimaced. "I'm really sorry, 367, but I'm in a lot of pain again."

"Don't worry," I said. "I should get going now, anyway. I'll see you later."

"See you later," 887 said.

I snuck back out of 887's area of the infirmary and started to head back out when I paused and turned around. I couldn't help myself. "Don't let 405 kill me for this if she ever finds out," I said to myself as I slid behind a corner and listened and waited. After a moment, I heard something and I smiled and I continued on. I finally reached another curtained off area, only I could hear more machines. I frowned and pulled aside just enough for me to get a peek inside and I looked at X5-355 and my jaw dropped.

"That…that can't be," I whispered. That couldn't be 355…could it? That was an old woman laying on the bed, a very old woman! She looked like 355, but she couldn't be her! It wasn't possible. 355 was in her mid-teens. This woman looked like she was in her seventies or eighties. She had ice packs on her forehead and arms and she was hooked up to an oxygen tube and IVs and other machines. I began to tremble. I was getting really scared. I took a deep breath to try to calm myself down and I looked at the wristband that the woman was wearing and I zoomed in on it and my eyes widened. It was 355! I turned around and got out of there. I don't know how I did it without getting caught by somebody. I left the infirmary and turned around the corner and ran into somebody. Oh, no!

"Slow down. What's going on? Are you okay?"

I looked up and bit my lip, not sure whether to feel relieved or frightened. I'd bumped into 210 from X5 Unit 2 and next to her was 452. I didn't know if they'd report me or what. "I…I…"

"It's okay, take your time," 452 said gently. "You're shaking and you're as white as a sheet. Are you okay? Tell us what's wrong."

I took a deep breath. I guess they weren't going to report me so I should tell them what I'd seen. "I…I snuck out of my barracks to see my unit mate 887 who's in the infirmary because he was injured during Escape and Evade and I reached the infirmary and I saw him and he'll be okay and all and then I got curious about what happened to X5-355 so I found out where she was and…and…it…" I tried to take another deep breath. "She was old!"

"What do you mean?" 210 asked. "How was she old?"

"She looked like she had aged," I explained. "She looked like she was eighty years old and she had ice packs on her and she was hooked up to machines and oxygen and I thought that I was wrong and that it wasn't 355 but then I saw the bracelet that was on her wrist and it was her and I got scared and I got out of there."

"Whoa," 452 said.

I nodded, feeling much calmer now. "Do you want me to show you?"

"Only if you're up to it," 210 said. "That's actually what we were going to do when we bumped into you…"

"367," I said. "I'm sure." I led them back into the infirmary and we snuck over to where 355 was and I pulled the curtain back enough for 452 and 210 to have a look. I didn't take another look myself, though.

"Holy shit," 452 whispered. She sounded as shocked as I'd been. She saw me out of the corner of her eye and winced. "Sorry, 367."

"It's okay," I said.

"I can't believe that's her," 210 whispered. She and 452 looked up and a split second later, so did I. 452 gestured to me and 210 and we hid behind equipment as two doctors entered 355's curtained off area. We kept hidden and listened to them.

"It's a good thing that we got the ice on her in time," one of the doctors said. "She was developing the symptoms faster than the two X5s from the facility in Syracuse who'd come down with this disease."

"Same symptoms, though, right?" the second doctor asked.

"Exactly the same," the first doctor said. "Fever, coughs, other flu-like symptoms followed by the rapid physical aging." I heard the sound of a clipboard opening and then shutting. "Let's prep her for the treatment. Exactly like it's outlined."

"Good thing it received the final okay yesterday, huh?" the second doctor said.

"Especially for this X5," the first doctor agreed. "She'll be the first X5 to actually undergo this therapy. If everybody's lucky, she'll be the only one."

452, 210, and I snuck back out of the infirmary and went back towards my barracks. "I wish we knew what made her so sick," I said. I shuddered.

"Maybe W—369 will have an idea after he hears what 355's symptoms were," 210 said helpfully. "He's the field med in our unit and he's pretty advanced in his med training and he usually likes to read those medical books in the library. If anybody other than those doctors would know or have an idea, he would."

We reached my barracks and I opened the door. "Thank you for not reporting me," I said.

"Not reporting her for what?"

I winced. "Sorry, 405."

"We ran into her outside of the infirmary," 452 said.

"Oh," 405 said. "I guessed that you'd gone to see 887." She looked at us and frowned. "What's wrong?"

452, 210, and I explained what had happened. "…we're going to ask 369 later what he thinks," 210 said. "He should know."

"Okay," 405 said. She still looked calm, though I saw 452 and 210 exchange a look after glancing at her. I shrugged it off.

"Well, thanks again," I said.

"You're welcome, 367," 452 said.

"You should get to bed," 405 said.

"But I slept last night," I protested. I turned back to 452 and 210. "I have shark DNA. I barely sleep."

210 smiled. "452 and I also have shark DNA. We understand."

"Pretend to sleep at least," 405 said, but she smiled a little. "Thank you, you guys." 452 and 210 also smiled and they left and 405 and I went inside the barracks, shutting the door behind us. I went back over to my bunk and got inside and 405 got back into her own bunk.

"Good-night, 405," I said.

"Good-night, 367," 405 said. "Are you okay or are you sick of people asking you that by now?"

I giggled. She's really serious most of the time, but once in awhile 405 can be pretty funny. "I'll be fine in the morning."

"Okay," 405 said. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to wake me up."

"I promise," I said. I lay down and sighed and stared at the ceiling.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78 for your review and support!


	11. Chapter 11: Max X5 452

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Cold Comfort."

**Chapter 11: Max (X5-452)**

I laughed as I stood up after the warning bell rang. "That will never happen in your lifetime, Kenny. You need to grow a brain first."

"I do have a brain, Max," Kenny said. He glared at me.

"Admit defeat, bro," Zane said. "You're never going to win any kind of battle with Max, physical or verbal."

"Thank you, Zane," I said. I put my lunch tray away and started to leave the cafeteria to head to my next class. I glanced to my right and saw Zack motioning to Jondy, Wayne, and myself. I nodded and I followed him out of the cafeteria and we stood in the hallway. A moment later, 405 and 367 joined us. "Well, doc? Got a diagnosis for us?"

Wayne bit his lip. "It sounds to me like 355 was suffering from some form of progeria. Progeria is when rapid physical aging occurs. I don't know why 355 suffered from it and why it occurred so suddenly. My best guess is that it's some kind of genetic defect and considering how we were put together, it doesn't surprise me at all that something else other than the serotonin imbalance could and did go wrong."

"355 wasn't the only X5 to have this happen," Jondy reminded us. "Those docs said that two X5s in New York had the same problem occur and I'm assuming that they died from it."

"That's still only three X5s out of about four hundred and thirty," Wayne said. "That makes it six-tenths of a percent odds at this point that any X5s could come down with this illness and didn't you guys say that they were prepping 355 for some kind of treatment when you left the infirmary? If they've found a treatment for those X5s that are already sick, then the odds are pretty good that they'll find what's causing this and find out if maybe certain people are at risk and some aren't and monitor those that are so that if it happens again, they can be treated quickly."

"I hope this won't happen to X6s," 367 said. "I've heard that our DNA is pretty close to yours."

"But there is some difference between X5 and X6 DNA," Wayne said. He smiled. "That ups the odds that you guys won't come down with this right there, especially if this problem is X5-specific."

367 smiled back. "Thanks, 369."

"I wonder if that treatment was successful on 355," 405 said. "I haven't heard anything this morning about that. Have any of you?"

Zack shook his head. "I haven't heard anything."

"Neither have I, but I had to run a few extra laps around the facility after K--471 tripped me when we were sparring outdoors this morning," Jondy said. "I can't believe the idiot didn't get caught."

"When was the last time that he's ever gotten caught doing something like that?" Wayne pointed out. He laughed. I had to agree with him there.

"Yep, that's our resident—" I stopped and looked towards the end of the hall. "Lydecker's coming." I got an idea and turned to 367. "What was that move that you were having trouble with again, 367?"

367 looked a little surprised. "How did you know about that?" Then she got it. "Oh, I was sparring against 392 yesterday, and…" She began to go into detail and sure enough, Lydecker came around the corner a moment later just as Zack was about to offer her some advice.

"What is the meaning of this, soldiers? Why aren't you going to your classes?" he said.

"X6s 405 and 367 had asked for some help regarding the problem that 367 was having in martial arts yesterday, sir," Zack said. "I was about to suggest to 367 that when she had turned to block the attack from X6-392, she had created a rather large blind spot on her right and had also left that side completely open, allowing 392 to defeat her."

"I see," Lydecker said. "Do you agree with 599's analysis of your performance, 367?"

"Yes, sir," 367 said. "It was a problem that I've often had in the past, but I won't make that same mistake again, sir."

"Yes, I recall," Lydecker said. He looked thoughtful and I didn't know whether to be relieved or worried that he might be planning something. "Thank you for your assistance, 599. All of you head to your classes."

We saluted the jerk and after exchanging quick glances of relief with 405 and 367, Zack, Jondy, Wayne, and I walked away. "That was a close one," Jondy said. "Nice save, Maxie."

"Thanks," I said. I made a face. "I hope I didn't just get ourselves into something even deeper, though."

"What do you mean?" Wayne asked.

"Come on, Wayne," I said. "You didn't notice the look on Lydecker's face when he dismissed us just now? The last time I saw that look on his face, we got shipped out to the Sahara for a four-day desert survival training mission. Remember how well that one went?"

Wayne shrugged. "We did ace it."

"But how many times did I have to threaten to knock out you and Parker because the two of you wouldn't shut up about the heat?" Zack said. I snickered.

"I lost track after fifty," Wayne said. He grinned. "I better get my ass to Psych Warfare. I'll see you guys later." He walked away.

"And if Jondy and I don't get ourselves to our mechanics class, we'll be toast with the trainer," I said.

Jondy nodded and smiled. "Especially since they're gonna teach us how to ride motorcycles in that class today!"

Zack shook his head. "I'll let you daredevils go. I'll see you later." He walked away.

"Come on," I said to Jondy. "If we haul ass, we might actually make it to our class on time."

"I'll race you," Jondy said. She took off.

"That wasn't fair!" I yelled. I took off after her.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78 and CrimsonReality for their reviews and support!


	12. Chapter 12: Becky X6 405

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 12: Becky (X6-405)**

"Pick it up," I said to 115 and 773 as we marched out of the cafeteria and towards our first lesson the next day. "If we're late for live ordinance, I swear that I won't cover for the two of you."

"Don't worry, 405," 115 assured me. "I was just reminding 773 of what's coming up later today in our Basic Infiltration class. Remember? The trainer promised a few days ago that today we'd--"

"Attention. All X5 and X6 series, your first classes of the day have been canceled or postponed. Report to Lecture Hall 3 immediately. Attention. All X5 and X6 series, your first classes of the day have been canceled or postponed. Report to Lecture Hall 3 immediately." The intercom shut off with a quick burst of static and we all looked at each other, confused.

"Before anybody asks, I had no idea about this," I said immediately as I led everybody back in the other direction.

887, who'd been released from the infirmary last night, frowned. "How the hell do you know what we're about to say? Are you sure you're not really a Psy Ops prototype?"

"If I am, they haven't told me about it," I deadpanned. We quickly reached Lecture Hall 3 and went inside. I found us some seats and we went over to them and sat down and waited for everybody else to arrive. "I haven't seen this many of us together for awhile."

"Me too," 115 said.

Everybody looked over to the door and stood at attention and saluted as Colonel Lydecker entered the lecture hell. He returned the salute and nodded to us and we sat back down in our seats. "There has been a minor change in our program. Most of you should be familiar with the concept of mentoring, but for those of you who aren't, I'll go over it briefly. There are two parties involved. The mentoring party helps with a problem or whatever it might be that the second party might need and hopefully, both parties will benefit from the situation."

"I know that," 956 said. I quickly shushed him and focused my attention back on Lydecker. I was getting pretty curious as to what he was saying.

"Effective immediately, we will begin a mentoring program between the X5s and the X6s," Lydecker said. "This program is unique to this facility. Each X5 unit will be paired up with an X6 unit. These paired units will be expected to share time together, such as at least some meal times and will also be paired up for certain group lessons such as martial arts and perhaps even some missions. The X5s will be expected to mentor the X6s along as they go through the same experiences as the X5s have and in the process, we expect the performances of both units in the pair to improve."

"Hey, this actually sounds pretty good," 392 said.

"Yeah, it does," I agreed.

"The following units will be paired together for this program," Lydecker said. "Following the conclusion of this assembly, I will be briefly seeing the commanding officers of each unit." He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and began to read off units. "X5 Unit 1 will be paired off with X6 Unit 7. X5 Unit 2 will be paired off with X6 Unit 1. X5 Unit 3..."

I don't know how I kept the smile off of my face. Yes! We'd been paired with Zack and his family. I saw 367 looking at me and I turned to her and we did exchange a quick smile. Talk about getting lucky. Lydecker finished reading off the pairings and I got up and walked over to where Zack and the other commanding officers were gathering around him.

"Instead of your regularly scheduled first lesson today, you will have a group lesson together," he told us. "You and your units are dismissed as soon as I give you your assignments. 476 and 932, your units will be reporting to the gym. 599 and 405, your units will be reporting to Yard B for live ordinance."

Zack and I nodded and we walked back over to our units. I motioned for them to follow me and we waited by the door for Zack and his family and then we all marched together to where we'd been ordered to go. "Um, I'm glad that we got paired up for this," I said.

"Me too," Zack said.

"What do you think that we're going to do?" 570 asked.

"In live ordinance, I don't know," I said.

"Hey, which one of you guys is hoping to be the explosives specialist?" Zane asked. 144 raised his hand and Zane grinned. "I've got some great stuff to show you. I've got this great trick to use in a pinch if you're ever out in an urban situation on a mission and you don't have anything conventional on hand. Have you ever heard of a Molotov cocktail? This blows it away..."

Live ordinance went by pretty much as it usually did, except I was actually having fun. Not that live ordinance was my least favorite subject to begin with. I love a good explosion now and then. I was disappointed when we had to split up and 115, 367, 773, and myself had to go to language. The rest of the morning went by, though, and finally it was time for lunch. I was pretty hungry. I got on the line with everybody and as I took my tray after getting my mystery meat and what I'm guessing is cornbread, I looked over and I saw that Zack and his family had shoved two tables together and were sitting scattered around them. They motioned for us to join them and we did. I sat down in between Zack and Max and I smiled. "Hi."

"Hi," Max said. "How was your morning?"

"The usual," 115 said. "The professor who's teaching language almost put me to sleep."

"What are you up to?" Tinga asked.

"We just started Greek," 115 replied.

"Remember when we were learning Greek, Reese?" Ben said. "I think you actually did fall asleep!"

"I did not," Reese said. "I had a rotten night's sleep the night before, but I didn't actually zonk out during class that day, bro."

"Bro?" 662 repeated.

The X5s exchanged a look. "Yeah, as in brother," Reese said cheerfully.

"We think of ourselves as brothers and sisters," Zack explained. "We feel closer to each other than simply unit mates. Do you guys feel the same way about each other?"

"I do," I said. One by one, the rest of my unit agreed.

"Then you really are a family," Syl said.

Wayne pointed to me and gave a cheeky grin. "Complete with a nagging mother!"

"Where the hell did your intelligence go?" Tinga groaned. "She might be younger than you are, but she can kick the living crap out of you."

"It's okay," I said. "I'll give him a free shot this time."

058 smiled. "I like the idea of family."

"Especially since you're the baby," 773 teased.

"Don't knock it," Max said. "Being the youngest in the family rocks."

"Ignore Max," Parker said. "She can technically boss most of us around."

"Technically? Even if I didn't rank ahead of your sorry ass, I'd still be bossing you around and you damn well know it," Max said. I giggled and so did most of my sisters.

"Max?" 144 said. "What or who is that?"

"That would be me," Max said. "Max is my name."

"Aren't names forbidden?" 367 asked.

Zack shrugged. "Colonel Lydecker is a soldier and he has a name and so do the guards and the trainers. Why shouldn't we have names? We only use them among ourselves anyway." He pointed to himself. "I'm Zack. You know Max's name." He pointed out the other members of his family and their names. "...and that's Jondy." He smiled. "Do you guys want names as well?"

"Sure," 691 said. The others agreed and then turned to me.

I couldn't help laughing a little. "Becky."

"Hmmm..." 115 said. He looked thoughtful and then he perked up. "Kyle."

"I like the name Karen," 367 said.

"I like the name Kevin," 773 said.

029 groaned. "I vote that the next person to give themselves a name doesn't take a name that starts with K."

Wayne smirked. "Now do you feel better if not finally believe me about my name?"

"Not really," Zane said.

"I've got an idea," 058 spoke up. "I like the name Xavier."

"That's an interesting name," Jack said. "Where did you come up with that?"

"I was getting blood taken in the infirmary one time and this tech left a graphic novel lying around," he replied. "It was about some group of mutants called the X-Men. I snatched it on my way out and I read it and I loved it. Xavier was the name of the leader, though for some reason in the graphic novel they pronounced the X in the name and normally with words that start with the letter X they don't. I never got it. Oh, well."

"Good choice," Kenny said. "That's cool."

"I like the name Matt," 144 said.

"Maggie," 691 said.

"Here we go again," 029 said.

"Why don't you pick the next name then and make sure that we don't have three in a row that start with M?" Kevin suggested.

"I know, but I can't think of one," 029 said.

"I've got an idea. How about Liesel?" Jondy said.

She thought about it for a few moments. "Hey, that's pretty cool. Is that a foreign name?"

"Yeah, it's German," Jondy said. "It was in our textbooks when we were learning that language a few years ago."

"It's really pretty," Liesel said. "Thank you, Jondy."

"You're welcome," Jondy said.

"I can't think of one, either," 662 said.

I looked at her and then I thought of something. "What do you think about Felicia?"

"I really like it," she said.

"I want the name Dalton," 887 said.

"Sandy," 956 said.

"Brent," 570 said.

"Suzanne," 392 said. "I think it sounds really pretty."

"It does," Gale said. "I think it's a beautiful name."

"Congratulations," Zack said.

I smiled. "Thank you, Zack."

"Now that everybody sitting at these tables has a name, what do you all think about the idea of teaming up and teaching the new trainer over there a lesson?" Rena asked. She pointed to where the trainer was sitting with some of the other ones. "That moron had the nerve to think that I couldn't handle that new sniper rifle model that I was working with. Actually, it wasn't so much that fact as how he went about letting me know his opinion and--" She seemed to catch herself. "--how he looked at me afterwards."

Zack looked really angry. "I'll kill him."

"Nothing actually happened, Zack," Rena said. "Besides, I did prove to him just how well I could use the new model." She shrugged and smiled. "I definitely think that he shouldn't go without some form of punishment. What do all of you think?"

"Including us?" Maggie squeaked.

"Yeah," Rena said. "You're part of our family now." They all smiled at us and I've never felt happier. I loved being a part of a family. It's the best feeling in the world.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, Shadow000, and angelofdarkness78 for your reviews and support! It means a lot to me. If anybody of you were wondering, Dalton/887 is the same Dalton from "Freak Nation." In my fic "All of Us," I decided to make him part of Becky's unit (also, his designation wasn't mentioned on the show so I made that up as well). Thank you all so much again!


	13. Chapter 13: Zane X5 205

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Cold Comfort."

**Chapter 13: Zane (X5-205)**

I slid into my seat for Language and Foreign Infiltration in a good mood. I've got to admit, this mentoring program is pretty cool. I really like the X6s. Matt and I had a blast, and I swear that no pun was intended, in live ordinance yesterday and the other kids are a blast. It's great to have our family extended like this.

"What do you think the trainer's going to blabbing to us today?" Kenny asked as he sat down next to me.

"Who knows and who gives a rat's ass?" I said. "Languages bore the hell out of me."

"Welcome to the club, bro," Kenny said. We both saw Zack rolling his eyes from where he was sitting in a different part of the classroom and we both turned to him and made a face and laughed our asses off when Zack shook his head in disgust. "Man, he needs to loosen up once in awhile."

"Since when has that been news?" I said.

"Good point," Kenny admitted.

I noticed that my bootlaces had come loose, so I bent down to re-tie them. I pulled myself back up and then I did a double take. "Holy crap, is that really her? It's only been a few days since she collapsed."

"That looks like 355 all right and she looks pretty normal to me," Kenny agreed. We watched as 355 handed a note to the trainer, who read the note and then handed it back to her, and took her seat. I've got to admit, I felt a little sorry for 355. Everybody, well maybe except for Zack, was looking at her out of the corners of their eyes. I wonder how many people knew what had actually happened to her.

"Okay, now that everybody is present, we'll begin," the trainer said. He picked up some of the books that were on his desk. "I'll be passing out a textbook for each and every one of you because we'll be starting on a new language today. You lucky little bastards are going to be learning how to speak Japanese today. We'll be spending the first hour of class going over some of the basics of the language and then we'll be going over various methods of infiltration into Asian countries." He started to walk down the aisles and pass out the books and I shut up and paid or at least tried to pay attention. Class seemed to go on forever. When the trainer finally dismissed us, Kenny and I left the classroom but hung back a bit to wait for Tinga, who'd been sitting near the back and who'd also been paired up with 355 when the trainer had us go over some information that he'd given us towards the end of the class.

Tinga rolled her eyes. "My God, the two of you just can't wait."

"Are you surprised?" I said.

"Not really," Tinga conceded.

"Where's—oh, there he is," Kenny said as Zack saw the three of us standing together and walked up to us. "Just in time, bro." He turned back to Tinga. "So, did 355 say anything to you about why they sprung her from the infirmary already?"

"Yes, she did," Tinga said. "She came through whatever treatment they gave to her just fine and whatever caused her to get sick is permanently fixed. She's still not completely 100 percent so she's restricted to classroom activities only and she said that at the rate that she's recovering that she should be cleared for full active duty again in a week at most. Are you happy, Kenny and Zane?"

"Thank you, Mommy," Kenny and I said in unison.

"The two of you need to grow up," Zack said. "Thank you for the update, Tinga."

"You're welcome," Tinga said.

"Thanks, Tinga," I said.

"Thanks, sis," Kenny said.

"You guys are all welcome," Tinga said.

Zack looked at his watch. "We should get going. We need to meet the others outside by the obstacle course."

"Who do you think is going to win today, Max or Zack?" Kenny said as we headed outside.

"I don't know," I said. "Rena and Ben are always pretty fast on the course. One of them might actually pull of the upset today."

"Don't tell me that you guys are actually going to put bets on who has the fastest time today on the obstacle course," Tinga groaned.

I raised an eyebrow. "Where have you been, sis? We've been doing this every time we've ran the course since when knew what a bet was and how they worked. You know that."

"Call me crazy, but I still hold out hope that you might actually grow up one of these days," Tinga said.

"Okay, lunatic," Kenny said. He and I laughed and we exchanged a high five. I might be closer to Wayne and Krit than I am with Kenny a little bit, but I still love my other older brother.

Zack shook his head as we exited the building and headed towards the start of the obstacle course. "Tinga, they'll never change. Just be happy that Krit, Wayne, and Parker aren't with them. Take what you can get." He turned his head around so that he was looking at Kenny and I. "And Zane, I heard you reaching inside of your pocket and if you even think of taking that piece of paper that was in there and making it a spitball and throwing it at _anybody_, much less Tinga or myself, you will regret it. Am I making myself clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir," I said, grinning. Kenny laughed even harder and even Tinga smiled. "Hey, we beat the others here."

"Not by much," Max said as she, Jondy, Krit, Eva, and Jack walked over to us. "Hey, you guys."

"Damn, we're last here," Ben said as he and the rest of our brothers and sisters walked over to the obstacle course start.

"Who thinks who's going to win on the course today?" Brin said. Everybody began to call out their bet. "Okay, that's seven for Max, seven for Zack, three for Ben, and two for Rena."

"I know that I am going to beat all of you today," Rena said, grinning. She cracked her knuckles.

"You wish," Max said.

"Exactly," Rena said. We all laughed.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78, Estel Duath, and CrimsonReality for your reviews and support!


	14. Chapter 14: Jace X5 798

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

About six years later…

**Chapter 14: Jace (X5-798)**

I bit my lip in concentration and threw the dart at the center of the dartboard. It hit the bulls-eye dead on and I grinned and walked over to it and pulled it and the other three darts that I'd thrown at the board out and walked back to my spot. "Not bad."

Jondy sighed and I could almost hear her rolling her eyes as well. "I don't understand what the point is of having a dart board in this rec room. It's too fucking boring. Even an X3 could hit the bulls-eye from the other end of the room with his or her eyes closed and with one hand tied behind his or her back."

I turned around. "I don't know and for your information, throwing darts happens to relax me. It clears my head."

"Do you mean that there's actually space for a brain in there?" Jondy said. "I thought that your skull was so thick that there wasn't room for anything in your head."

"Cut it out," Zack said. "What has gotten into the two of you tonight?"

"Hey, Syl and I are having an off night," Rena said. "Somebody's got to take up the slack."

"And how," Syl remarked. "I think Jace is about this close to beating the crap out of Jondy."

The door opened and Becky, Kyle, and Kevin walked in. "I hope we aren't interrupting anything," Kyle said.

"No, just a possible fight between Jace and Jondy," Tinga said. "Come on in and have a seat somewhere. Where are the rest of you guys?"

"Still at their various classes," Becky said. She sat down in a chair and picked up a magazine that was on a table. She looked at the magazine and made a face and put it back down. "We had Advanced Close Quarters Combat and we ended up finishing early because the trainer had gotten called to an emergency with some of the X4s. It was a heat fight."

"They're a few years older than us and they still haven't gotten it through their heads to get their women to isolation in the infirmary the second the go into heat," Brin said. She looked annoyed.

"I think that most of them know to do that," Parker said. "Besides, it's not like any of us have any room to talk."

"Excuse me? What do you mean by that?" I said.

Parker snorted. "Not you, Jace, don't get your underpants in a twist." He pointed over to Eva. "I'm talking about Eva."

Eva's jaw dropped. "What the fuck are you talking about, Parker?"

"Drop the dumb blond act, sis," Parker said. "Last year when half of us were away on that mission in Mississippi. Reese, Ben, Krit, and I were here and the four of us almost tore each other to pieces because you conveniently forgot to take yourself to isolation before the girls here could knock our asses for a loop."

"I did not conveniently forget to take myself away from you guys," Eva said indignantly. "My heat came a few days early that cycle. I couldn't help it!"

Kyle laughed. "I thought the argument that Suzanne and Kevin had the other day was bad, but this one tops that. Nice job."

"You seem to be in a good mood. What's going on?" Jack asked.

"I found out earlier that I'm being sent on a mission," Kyle said.

"Oh," Gale said. "With whom and where to?"

"The members of Unit 7 that didn't go out on that mission down to Florida," Kyle said.

"That's odd," I said. "They rarely mix up groups of X5s and X6s to go on missions together that aren't paired through the mentoring program. Why are you going and not somebody from X6 Unit 8?"

"I was a substitute," Kyle said. "Somebody from that unit had been scheduled to go on the mission but they were injured in training this morning and I guess they won't be cleared for active duty in time to be able to go on the mission and most of the rest of that unit just got back from another mission. Maybe they just looked at whoever was available and drew a designation at random. Who knows and who cares? I'll be getting out of here for at least a week, maybe two weeks depending on how the mission goes."

"So, where are you going?" Zane asked.

"Italy," Kyle said.

Elle sighed happily. "Europe. I love going over to Europe on missions. Remember that one mission where we went to Barcelona? Those off hours were amazing! I actually got to go to the beach and tan myself for awhile."

"Yeah, and you came back looking beet red from the sunburn," Kenny teased.

"I did not have a sunburn," Elle said. "My face was flushed because they sent us out to run some laps after we were finished debriefing and we only met up with you at dinner time."

"Enough arguing, please," Zack said. "What on Earth has gotten into you guys today?"

"Don't waste energy trying to figure it out," Max said. "Just accept it."

"Good point, Maxie," Zack admitted.

Kevin looked back and forth between them. "You know…never mind."

"Never mind what?" Max asked.

"Nothing," Kevin said innocently. He walked over to Becky and whispered something in her ear low enough so that the rest of us wouldn't be able to hear him. Becky's eyes actually widened for a second and I actually thought she was going to laugh out loud before she caught herself. Now I was curious. In the six years that I'd really known her, I'd learned that she was almost as bad as Zack sometimes. What did Kevin tell her?

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I'll tell you later," Kevin said.

"Will you tell me later?" Max asked sweetly.

Kevin shook his head. "That won't work on me anymore, Max. I stopped having a crush on you when I was thirteen."

"Yeah, and now he has a crush on Gale!" Kyle said gleefully.

"Kyle!" Kevin said indignantly. Both he and Gale blushed and the rest of us laughed. Even Zack and Becky smiled. "When are you leaving for Italy again?"

"Mission prep tomorrow and I ship out in two days," Kyle said. He smiled. "Sorry, bro. You know that I love ya."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kevin said, pretending to be dismissive and getting another laugh out of the rest of us. Then he smiled and gave Kyle a hug. "I love you too, bro."

"Who's up for a round of pool?" Ben asked.

Becky looked at the clock on the wall and winced. "I would, but we should be heading back to our barracks soon. We've got less than thirty minutes until lights out."

"You know, it's kind of scary sometimes," I said. "Anybody else think so?"

"I couldn't agree with you more," Rena agreed.

Becky and Zack both rolled their eyes. "Not again," Zack said.

"It got dropped right into our laps, Zack," I pointed out.

"No, it didn't," Zack said. He stood up. "Let's get back."

"Sir, yes, sir!" We gave him a mock salute and laughed again before we left the rec room and headed back to the barracks.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to kay, CrimsonReality, and angelofdarkness78 for your reviews and support!


	15. Chapter 15: Becky X6 405

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 15: Becky (X6-405)**

"Please let Kyle finish with his mission soon," Kevin whined as we marched back to our barracks.

"Relax, Kevin, he's scheduled to return in two days, remember?" I said. "Don't worry. It shouldn't be too long. Why are you so antsy for him to get back?"

"He owes me for a bet we made," Kevin said.

Suzanne snorted. "Owes you what? It's not like we're making money."

"Guys, please don't--" I stopped suddenly and held up my hand and we all paused in the hallway as a tech came running up to us. "Yes? Can we help you?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "X6-405? Colonel Lydecker wants to see you in his office immediately."

I nodded. "773, take the unit back to the barracks. I'll meet you there when I'm finished in Colonel Lydecker's office."

"Yes, ma'am," Kevin said. He saluted me and moved to the front of the line and continued to lead the rest of them back to our barracks.

I nodded to the tech and he led me over to Colonel Lydecker's office. When we got there, he went inside and let Colonel Lydecker know that I had arrived. He came back out and he nodded to me and I went inside and saluted Lydecker and stood at attention. "X6-405 reporting as ordered, sir."

"At ease, 405," Lydecker said. I took a good look at him. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. I've known the bastard my whole life and his expression was pretty much the same, but there was something in his eyes that had me on edge but not in the way that they usually did. "405, I'm afraid that I have some bad news for you. We received a transmission from the team over in Italy. The mission was a success, but they had exchanged some fire with the target as they got away and I'm afraid that 115 was shot in the fight. They got him back to their base and gave him medical attention, but the gunshot wound was in the head and they weren't able to revive him. 115 is officially listed as K.I.A. I'm very sorry, 405."

I was beyond shocked. Kyle was dead? That couldn't be right. I could almost feel everything inside of me go numb and I somehow managed to keep my face straight and my voice level in front of Lydecker. "Thank you for letting me know about this, sir."

Lydecker nodded. "115's body is already in the process of being sent back here. After we have completed the organ harvesting procedures, we will bury 115 in the graveyard. I will let your unit know when his body will be ready for burial so that all of you may attend."

A soldier always pays respects to those who didn't make it. It was one of those cardinal rules that Lydecker impressed upon us from day one and I absolutely agreed with that rule. "Thank you, sir."

"You may return to your barracks and inform the rest of your unit," Lydecker said. He nodded to me. "You are dismissed."

I saluted Lydecker and turned around and left the office. I was stunned and hurting. I couldn't believe that Kyle was gone. He'd been one of my best friends since we were babies. He and I were only three months apart in age and we'd always been close, as close as he and Kevin had been. I closed my eyes for a moment as another wave of pain hit. Oh my God. Kevin and the others were going to be crushed when I tell them this. How was I going to do this? How can I?

I reached the hallway where our barracks were located and I approached the door. Time seemed to slow down with every step that I took. By the time that I got to the door and was reaching for the handle, it seemed as if time had slowed to a crawl. I took a deep breath. You have to do this, Becky. You have to do this. I grabbed the handle and opened the door and stepped inside our barracks. The others had just finished getting ready for lights out and they all turned to me when they saw me come in. They looked happy, but that started to fade when they saw the look on my face.

"Becky? Is something wrong?" Karen asked.

I took a deep breath and nodded and I decided to go right out and say it. "Kyle was killed on his mission."

"No," Liesel whimpered. "He can't be dead."

"What happened?" Sandy asked.

"Colonel Lydecker told me that he and the rest of the team had completed the mission successfully, but that as they were getting away, they exchanged fire with the target and Kyle was shot," I said. "He took it in the head. They couldn't save him."

"That's impossible!" Kevin said. "Kyle's better than that! He knows how to dodge bullets just like the rest of us! There's no way that he could have taken a bullet and there's no way that he's dead! It's not possible."

"You know that sometimes even we can't avoid a bullet," I said gently. "There could have been a number of factors present. It could have been a matter of numbers. It could have been a bullet ricocheting off of a surface and catching Kyle by surprise. It could have even been something as simple as Kyle having a bad day at the worst possible time. I don't know. I don't think that we will know anything until the rest of that group gets back from Italy and is debriefed. All I know is what I was told by Lydecker. He did say that as soon as Kyle's body is ready to be buried, we'll be notified. We will at least be able to say good-bye to him."

Kevin nodded and then burst into tears. Several more of my brothers and sisters followed suit and I tried to hug as many of them as I could, all the while forcing my own grief underneath the surface. After while, they calmed down enough to climb into bed and they fell asleep almost immediately, even Karen. I just kicked off my boots and put them in their usual place underneath my bunk and climbed into it fully clothed and waited until the lights went out and the guard passed by the door. As soon as he had passed by and was out of earshot, I sat back up and swung my legs over the side of the bunk and just sat there with my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. What was I going to do?

TBC


	16. Chapter 16: Zack X5 599

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Spoilers for "…And Jesus Brought A Casserole."

**Chapter 16: Zack (X5-599)**

I woke up and grabbed my watch off of the top of my dresser and looked at it. 0132. I felt wide awake. I thought about just lying in bed like I usually do after I get my two hours of sleep for the night but I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye and sat up. Max had apparently just gotten dressed and was sneaking out the door. "Where are you going, Maxie?"

Max shrugged. "Just going to the gym. I think I'll get a few rounds on the punching bag in. Do you want to come with me or are you just going to stay in bed or read or something?"

I thought about it for maybe half a second. "I'll go with you. Give me a few moments." I got up out of my bunk, grabbed a change of clothing and started to get changed, noticing that Max had respectfully turned around to give me a little bit of privacy. I pulled on my second sock and put on my boots and laced them up and stood. "I'm ready."

"Mind if one more comes with you?" Max and I turned and saw Tinga walking towards us, already dressed. "I'm having a lot of trouble sleeping tonight."

"The more the merrier," Max said. "Come on."

"Jondy isn't coming with us?" I asked as we walked down the hallways towards the gym.

Max shook her head. "No, Jondy actually needs to sleep tonight. Maybe she'll get up and join us in the gym later." We paused a few steps short of the gymnasium. "I think somebody else had the same idea that we did."

"It sounds like it's Becky in there," Tinga said after a few more moments. We all smiled and walked over to the gym door and opened it and stood there watching Becky land punches and kicks against one of the sandbags. My smile faded as I watched her. Something was definitely wrong. Her stance was just a little too stiff and her blows were a little more powerful than they usually were. The three of us stood and watched until Becky stumbled after a kick but instead of keeping her balance and trying to land another blow against the bag, she collapsed to the floor and to our complete shock, she started to cry hysterically. Immediately, I ran over to her and sat down and pulled her into a hug and she clung to me almost desperately as she cried. Tinga went over to her side and started to rub her back and Max put a comforting hand on one of her shoulders. We were all unnerved by this. This kind of behavior was completely out of character for Becky. As much teasing as she and I have gotten over the years, we really were so much alike, including how we handled our emotions.

"Becky?" I said softly. "Becky, what's wrong?" She couldn't even speak coherently. I was really getting worried. "Becky, it's okay. It's me. Maxie and Tinga are here, too. Tell us what's wrong." I could feel Becky nodding against my shoulder and I heard her make a valiant effort to try to get herself under control enough to be able to speak.

"I--I got called into--Lydecker's office and he told--me that--" Becky started to sob again. "He's dead! Oh my God, he's dead."

Who had died? I'd seen all of the other members of--it hit me like a ton of bricks who Becky had to be talking about and I honestly felt like I was going to throw up. Max and Tinga looked similarly shocked.

"Kyle?" Max whispered. "How?"

"Lydecker told me that he and the team had taken fire as they were getting away and Kyle had been--had been hit in the head," Becky managed to say. "They couldn't revive him." She burst into tears again and I held her tightly and closed my own eyes and tried to hold back my own tears.

"Becky, I'm so sorry," Tinga said softly. "I am so sorry, sweetie."

"I just don't get it," Becky sobbed. "I don't get why this had to happen to Kyle. He didn't deserve to die. I don't get how I'm supposed to be strong for everybody when I'm hurting inside as much as they are. They're all wrecks over this and I've got to help them. I can't let them fall apart. But how can I stay strong for them when I'm also falling apart inside? How am I supposed to do it?"

"One step at a time, Beck," I said quietly. "I know how you feel. I felt the same way when Dash died years ago. It's not easy, but you just have to take everything one step at a time. And if you ever need to vent, and I mean ever, you can always come to us. We won't think of you as any weaker for it. You're human. We're all human." I took a deep breath. "The night that Dash died, after everybody else had gone to sleep for the night, I got out of bed and just went into the bathroom and sat down on the floor and I--I cried." I saw Max's eyes look downward for a nanosecond out of the corner of my eye. I continued on. "I got my feelings out and believe me, I was hurting that night. I was thinking the same things that you are now. How am I going to keep everything together for the others when I'm also breaking into pieces on the inside? It was so hard, but I realized that I had to take things slowly. It was the only way and that's how I was able to get through it. You can do it too, Becky. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met before in my life and I'm not talking about your physical abilities. I remember when we got out of Psy Ops back in June of 2009 after Unit 7 tried to escape that you were the only X6 commanding officer that got thrown into Psy Ops and that didn't look completely shell-shocked. I had so much respect for you for being so tough. I still do. I have faith in you, Becky. We all do. You can do it."

Becky nodded and I could hear her crying slowing down. Finally, she lifted her head from my shoulder and wiped her eyes and looked at all of us. "Thank you so much, you guys."

"You're part of our family, remember?" Max said, smiling.

Tinga also smiled. "Maxie's absolutely right, baby sister. If you ever need us for anything, just say the word. We'll be there for you or for any of you guys before anybody can blink."

Becky actually smiled and we all stood up. She took a shaky breath. "I should be getting back to my barracks before any of the others wake up and wonder why I'm the one that's not in their bunk in the middle of the night and not Karen."

"Your barracks are on the way to ours," I said. "We'll walk you there." Becky nodded and we left the gym and walked back. We stopped by her barracks and she turned back to us.

"Thank you so much again," she said.

"You're welcome," I said. "We'll break the news to the others in the morning for you."

Becky nodded. "Thanks, Zack. I guess I'll see you guys in the morning at breakfast." She went inside and closed the door behind her. Max and Tinga and I continued on to our own barracks and went inside and changed back for bed and got into our bunks. I closed my eyes when I heard a noise next to my bunk. I looked up and saw Max standing over me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Look, Zack..." she said. She looked nervous, which I rarely see happen with Max. She shows nerves about as much as I show any kind of emotion that Lydecker would think of as weak. "The night that Dash died...I didn't fall asleep like the others did. I was trying to but I couldn't and I heard you get up and go into the bathroom and I followed you and I peeked inside and I heard you crying. I knew how you'd react if I mentioned anything about that to any of the others, so I never said a word about it."

I suddenly sat up and hugged Max. "I thought I heard somebody outside of the bathroom. I had a feeling that it was you and I'm glad." I heard Max cry a little and I tightened my hug a little bit. "It'll be okay, Maxie. I promise."

"And you always fulfill a promise, one way or another," Max agreed. She let go and wiped her eyes. "I should get back into my bunk. I'll see you in the morning, Zack."

"See you in the morning, Maxie," I said. I watched her get into her bunk and lay down. I looked at her for a few moments longer before I sighed and lay back down and fell back asleep.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78 and CrimsonReality for their reviews and support! CrimsonReality, at this point in the fic, the X5s range in age from about eighteen (Max) to twenty-two (Zack) and the X6s range in age from about eleven (Xavier) to fifteen (Becky). aod78, Kyle is definitely dead in this fic. I'm glad you liked the interaction between Kyle and Kevin and I'll try to put some more of it in "What's Next?" since while that is a different AU, it has more or less the same characters including Kyle and Kevin. As for the Max/Zack action, it will be coming up later in the fic so hang tight! Thank you all so much again!


	17. Chapter 17: X6 312

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the fic belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Thank you so much to jracklesfan77 for the help that you gave to me for this chapter!

**Chapter 17: X6-312**

We crept silently into the building, 941 in front leading us and 252 as our rear guard. It should be an easy mission, especially with our entire unit assigned to it. There had been some suspicious activity in this supposedly abandoned military compound out in Poland, near the Czech border. This place was pretty deep in the forests so it would be the perfect base for insurgents or other such people, even though all but one of the buildings in the base were pretty much uninhabitable. We were checking out the only good building still up and so far, things were going pretty well.

"334, are you seeing this?" 941 whispered.

"Clear as day, 941," 334 said from her spot yards away from the compound. She was in charge of the comm. and surveillance equipment for the mission. Normally that was 437's job, but 334 was a little better with the equipment that we were using on the mission so she drew the duty. Everybody else was in the building except for our medic, 728, who was back at our camp at the other end of the forest. "Nothing out of the ordinary so far."

"Right," 941 said. "941 out." He turned off his earpiece and motioned for the rest of us to move forward.

I looked around, completely alert. I briefly wondered why I or everybody else save for 941 and 252 were bothering to scan for any possible hostiles since they could see and hear better than any of us, but I quickly put that thought out of my head and remembered when 520 had asked that question once. Fortunately, he hadn't asked it when the trainers were around, only us and 941's a pretty easy-going guy. 941 had only smiled and said. "Hey, you never know. 252 and I might miss something."

Suddenly, both 941 and 252 looked upwards and a moment later, the rest of us did as well. 941 began signaling to us. _Movement up above. Unable to determine exact origin of location or species. Hold here and wait for movement again._ We nodded and waited for a few moments. I held my automatic rifle tightly and listened as hard as I could. No other movement as far as I could hear and judging by the expression on 941's face, nothing that he could hear either. Finally, 941 gestured for us to continue on.

_We'll split up and start to search the individual rooms for any kind of evidence. 583 and 111, take this first room, 217 and 520, take the second, 437 and…_ 941 stopped gesturing suddenly when a group of men in military fatigues suddenly jumped out at us. Holy shit! How the hell had they been able to sneak up on us? I managed to recover quick enough to start firing with my rifle, but they dodged the bullets. What! We could evade enemy fire, but how the hell could these bastards do that?

941 rushed at one and hit him in the face with his rifle and threw a punch, but the man blocked it. How could he have blocked a hit from 941? I shook my head and tried shooting at the men some more. They couldn't completely avoid them, but this still wasn't good and it was getting closer to complete chaos with each passing moment. I watched with horror as my units mates went down one by one, either by gun shot or by the enemies own hands.

"437, down now!" 252 shrieked. She tried to shove 437 down and out of the way, but she wasn't close enough and 437 took one through the head. She turned around to shoot at the man who'd killed 437. I turned around to completely face her, ready to shout a 'way to go', but suddenly a bullet took her down and she fell almost right in front of me, her dark red blood flowing from the wound and through the lighter red of her hair, some of it dripping onto the ground in front of my boots. I couldn't believe it.

941 turned around to me and gestured frantically. _Get the hell out of here, get 334, and meet us back at base._

_Without you?_ I gestured back.

_I'll meet you there. Go NOW!_

I didn't question 941's orders. It had degenerated into chaos for sure by then and then the perfect opportunity came. The enemy's backs were turned and I bolted. I quickly found a side door and I ran through it and blurred through the woods. I ran around to where 334 was. She looked panicked, but she had somehow managed to pack up her equipment into her backpack and I barely had to pause as I passed by her area.

"Do you hear them?" she asked breathlessly as we practically flew through the forest. "Do you hear 941 or the enemy forces?"

"Not yet," I said. "As soon as they realize that they don't see my body around, they'll be looking." We continued to blur through the forest and I suddenly frowned. "Damn! I hear them coming up."

"ETA approximately five minutes," 334 confirmed. "What are we going to do?"

I looked down over to my left. There was a steep incline that led to a canyon. "Low road," I said. She nodded and we turned off our path and headed for the incline and dropped down and slid down the incline until we reached the bottom. We looked around and I found what we needed. A few yards down on the other side of the canyon was a small plateau with several boulders on it that were large enough to hide 334 and I from sight. The gap was still within our range for us to leap back when it was safe. I pointed the plateau out to 334 and I signaled the plan to her. She nodded and we stood up and jumped across to the plateau and landed safely and hid behind the boulders. I made another gesture to 334 and she nodded and, still hidden behind her boulder, she took out a small listening device. As small as it was, it was a powerful sucker and it also recorded what it picked up, too. She turned on the device and we listened and waited. A few minutes later, we heard with our own ears some of the enemies searching the area. They began speaking to each other in Polish and I sighed quietly, happy that I had learned that language a few years ago.

"A8 to A1, their tracks stop here," a voice said. He gave the coordinates. "No further sign of them, visually or otherwise."

"A1 to A8, I copy," another voice said. "All recon units, any sign of the one that got away?" Three other voices responded negatively. "Very well. A3, A5, A7, A8, you may all return back to base. We need to contact the general and give him our report on the trap and await further orders. A1 out."

334 and I just stared at each other in shock. This was a trap? It was starting to make a little bit of sense why the information in the briefing that we had gotten prior to leaving for Poland didn't seem like it was complete. 941 had noticed it, but the trainer had just shaken his head and had assured 941 that it was complete. What the fuck was going on?

We waited for several more minutes before we were sure that they were out of range. 334 turned off and packed up her equipment and we jumped back over to the incline and scaled it. We continued to run through the forest until we finally reached our camp. 728 was waiting for us, her eyes wide.

"Where were you guys?" she asked. "Where the hell is everybody else? Are they okay? What happened, 312?"

"941 didn't come back yet?" I said. "520, 111, and 646 haven't come back yet, either?" When I had escaped from the mess, they had been the only other ones from our unit that had gone in that were still alive.

"No," 728 said. "I haven't seen or heard from them."

I nodded and tried to fight off the panic that I was starting to feel. "I'm going to contact home for orders." 728 and 334 both nodded and I went over to the radio that we had set up at our camp. "Control, this is X6-312 awaiting orders." A few moments later, I got a response from back in Seattle.

"312, this is Control. Please advise as to your situation," somebody replied.

"The mission went belly-up, sir," I said. "It was an ambush. We got into the building as planned but we were ambushed by a unit of soldiers whose numbers matched ours. These soldiers were at least as strong and as fast as X6-941 and X6-252. We tried to fight them off, but they held the element of surprise. X6-941 ordered me to split off and get X6-334 from her position and return to our camp."

"What is the status of the unit, 312?" Control asked.

"X6s 252, 437, 811, 583, 217, 419, 155, 343, and 761 all confirmed K.I.A," I said. "The status of X6s 941, 111, 520, and 646 is unknown at this time. None of those soldiers have returned back to our camp at this point. X6-334 and X6-728 are here with me. Over."

"Transmit any and all video and audio recordings and then stand by for further orders. Control out," Control said.

"Visual and audio on their way. 312 out," I said. I nodded to 334 and she set up the transmissions and we sat back and waited for a reply back from Control.

"They're…they're all dead?" 728 finally said.

"Not everybody," I reminded her. "941, 111, 520, and 646 could still be alive. We just need to wait for them." So we waited…and we waited…and we waited. Nothing happened. They never came. A few hours passed and they still never came back to the camp. I didn't know what to do or what to say or even what to think. Fortunately, I was saved from my thoughts or lack thereof by the radio.

"X6-312, this is Control."

"X6-312 here," I said.

"Has there been any sign of X6s 941, 111, 520, or 646 yet?" Control asked.

Even though they couldn't see it, I shook my head. "Negative. There has been no sign of them."

"Control copies," Control said. "You are to pack up your camp and return to your accommodations in town. If the soldiers that are M.I.A. have not returned yet by morning, then you, X6-334, and X6-728 are to return here to Seattle as scheduled."

"As ordered, sir," I said.

"Control out," Control said.

"312 out," I said. 334 and 728 started to cry and I sat back and I couldn't help a few tears from falling down my own face. Most of my unit mates were dead. I'd never see them again and it hurt, much more than I thought it ever could. I didn't know if others, including my commanding officer, were alive or dead. It was overwhelming. I sat there and cried for a minute or two before I stopped and wiped my eyes and looked over at 334 and 728 and I nodded. "Let's move out."

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to sirena1, angelofdarkness78, and supernateral for their reviews and support! sirena1, I'll definitely be trying to be working in more M/Z into the fic from this point on. I tried to put it in a little subtly in chapter 16. Maybe it was a little too subtle :) Thank you so all so much again! It all means a lot to me.


	18. Chapter 18: X6 334

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 18: X6-334**

It's been three days since 312 and 728 and I had returned from Seattle from that disaster in Poland. The three of us have been in a state of shock since then. We haven't heard anything about the status of our missing unit mates or why that whole mess had happened in the first place. The only good thing that I could say about the past few days was that they didn't throw us in Psy Ops after we had been debriefed on the mission. They had heard the evidence of the ambush and had agreed with 312's final analysis.

The three of us stood outside in lineup, watching a pair of X5s spar. Since we had resumed our normal training schedule, they had often stuck us with X5 units or other X6 units for group lessons since it was just the three of us from our unit. The two X5s finished their fight and the trainer dismissed us. We headed back towards the building.

"Grow up and get rid of those dumb looks. It's been a few days," a female voice snapped.

Another female sighed in aggravation. "Shut the hell up, 908. Those poor kids just saw their unit shot out from under them because of an ambush. Either grow a brain stem or go pick on somebody your own age, okay?" The first woman gave us a nasty look but turned and went away. "I'm sorry about her."

"It's okay, 121," I said.

"But why are such pretty girls looking so sad?" 121's second-in-command, 511 said. He threw an arm around me and I giggled. He was a sweetheart and he's really cute.

"She's barely fourteen and 728 is only thirteen," 121 said in mock disgust. She was smiling, though. "Flirt with girls your own age."

"He flirts with you all the time and mentally, you're they're age. How is this different?" their C.O., 494, teased. By this time, 312, 728, and I were laughing a little.

"Once again, 494 proves just how smart he really is," 121 remarked.

"I am hurt, 121," 494 said. "I am deeply hurt that you would insult me down in front of these impressionable kids."

A guard marched over to us and we shut up and stood at attention. "Director Renfro needs to see X6-312, X6-334, and X6-728 in her office immediately." 312, 728, and I saluted the guard and then we saluted 494, 511, and 121 since X5s are our superior officers and we followed the guard to Director Renfro's office. We lined up and stood at attention because not only was Director Renfro in the office, but Colonel Lydecker, the man who ran one of the other Manticore facilities and was in charge of the entire project, was also there. He'd come over from Wyoming the day that we'd gotten back from Poland and had been one of the ones who'd debriefed us. We saluted both of them.

"X6-312 reporting as ordered, ma'am," 312 said.

"X6-334 reporting as ordered, ma'am," I said.

"X6-728 reporting as ordered, ma'am," 728 said.

"At ease," Director Renfro said and we fell back into the position. She nodded approvingly before she continued to talk. "I have some news for the three of you. As of 1400 hours, X6 Unit 4 has officially been de-commissioned."

What? They'd de-commissioned our unit? But 941, 111, 520, and 646 could still be alive! "Permission to speak, ma'am," 312 said.

"Permission granted," Director Renfro said. She gestured towards 312.

"Why was the unit de-commissioned, ma'am?" 312 asked.

"It was decided that keeping the unit together wasn't a viable option," Director Renfro replied. "We have, however, decided to keep the three of you together in the same unit." She motioned over to Colonel Lydecker. "When Colonel Lydecker returns to our Wyoming facility tomorrow morning, the three of you will go with him. You are being transferred to one of the X6 units there."

"Permission to speak, ma'am," I said.

"Permission granted," Director Renfro said.

"To which unit will we be transferred to?" I asked.

Director Renfro looked over to Colonel Lydecker and he answered my question. "The three of you will be transferred to Unit 1. Your new commanding officer will be X6-405 and your new second-in-command will be X6-773. You will meet them and the rest of your new unit when we arrive in Gillette tomorrow." He looked at us. "And no, we have nothing further on the status of your missing former unit mates. They are still classified at this point as M.I.A. and P.O.W."

"Are there any further questions?" Director Renfro asked.

"Ma'am, no, ma'am," 312, 728, and I said in unison.

"Very well," she said. "Colonel Lydecker will meet you outside of your cells at precisely 0500 hours tomorrow morning. He will escort you to the transport that will take you away from this facility. You must be ready to leave when he arrives for you. That is all. You may return to your regularly scheduled activity. You are dismissed."

We saluted Director Renfro and Colonel Lydecker and we left the office and headed for our next class. "We're leaving here," I said. "I can't believe that we're leaving this place. I've lived here my whole life."

"So have we," 312 said. He grinned wickedly. "But if you ever get homesick, just look around the place in Wyoming!" We'd heard that all three Manticore facilities were nearly identical.

"Very funny," I said.

"Thanks," 312 said.

"Seriously, it's good that you're making jokes again," I said. "I just wish that they were good jokes for once." The three of us laughed quietly and continued on to our class.

728's expression grew more sober. "Do you think that we'll get another shot at the bastards who killed everybody?"

"I hope we do," 312 said. "I want another piece of them."

"So do I," I agreed. "So do I."

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, angelofdarkness78, purple shimmer, and sirena1 for your reviews and support! sirena1, I actually wrote this chapter awhile ago, but I think that we're definitely on the same mental wavelength here! Thank you all so much again!


	19. Chapter 19: Kevin X6 773

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 19: Kevin (X6-773)**

I sat in my Culture class, listening to the trainer go on and on about something stupid. I couldn't help glancing over next to me to the empty seat that Kyle would have sat at. It's been a week, but I still can't believe that he's dead. My best friend is gone. Yeah, I'm second-in-command of the unit now, but I don't care about that. I'd rather have Kyle be alive. I quickly glanced over to where Becky was sitting. I could tell that she was having a hard time dealing with that as well. She and Kyle were as close as Kyle and I were. She didn't show it, but that's Becky for you. She's always so strong for us and I couldn't be more grateful.

"...so you need to pay attention to how they interact--" The trainer paused when we all heard a knock at the door. "Come in."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," a guard said after opening the door. "But Colonel Lydecker wants X6-405 and X6-773 in his office immediately." The trainer nodded and Becky and I got up and followed the guard over to Colonel Lydecker's office. We went inside and stood at attention and saluted.

"X6-405 reporting as ordered, sir!" Becky said.

"X6-773 reporting as ordered, sir!" I said.

"At ease," Colonel Lydecker said. He waited for a moment and then gestured next to Becky and me. We turned and saw three other X6s standing there, two girls and a guy. "405, 773, there have been additions to your unit. These three X6s have been transferred to your unit from an X6 unit in our Seattle facility that has been recently de-commissioned. This is X6-312, X6-334, and X6-728. 312, 334, 728, this is your new commanding officer, X6-405, and this is your new second-in-command, X6-773."

"X6-312 reporting for duty, ma'am," 312 said, stepping forward and saluting.

"X6-334 reporting for duty, ma'am," 334 said.

"X6-728 reporting for duty, ma'am," 728 said.

Becky nodded. "It's good to have the three of you on board. Welcome to Unit 1."

"Get the three of them settled into your barracks," Lydecker ordered. "After you are done, you may meet the rest of the unit for lunch. You are dismissed."

"Sir, yes, sir!" The five of us saluted Lydecker and then Becky led us out of the office and back to our barracks.

"Here we are," she said once we had finally reached the door. She opened the door and we went inside. "There were fifteen of us originally, we were one of the smaller units to begin with, and our numbers were down to twelve." How she managed to keep her voice level, I have no idea. "The arrival of the three of you brings our total back up to fifteen." She pointed out the empty bunks. "There are twenty bunks in this room. I guess they wanted to be prepared in case of transfers or anything like that. There's a dresser next to every bunk and also a trunk at the foot of every bunk. The male bathroom's over through that door over there and the female bathroom's through that second door. Pick a bunk and get your things put away."

The three new soldiers nodded and started looking around and found bunks that they wanted. I saw the guy, 312, put his duffle bag down on Kyle's old bunk and I couldn't help wincing. 312 saw this and looked up at me, concerned. "Is something wrong? Are you okay?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine," I said. "That was our former second-in-command's bunk."

"Former?" 312 said.

"He was killed on a mission a week ago," Becky said quietly.

"I'm sorry," 312 said. "I could find another bunk if you like."

"No, it's okay," I said. I managed to smile. "I need to hear somebody snoring on both sides of me to be able to get to sleep." I pointed to my own bunk. "I'm directly to your left."

"I can't believe that we all share one room," 334 said. "Back in Seattle, they split us up and put us in individual cells in the same block once we hit puberty."

"We used to share one bathroom," I said. "They added the second bathroom to every barracks years ago. I guess they're trying something a little different at every facility."

"Maybe," 334 said.

Becky and I waited while 312, 334, and 728 put their things away. By the time that they were done, it was time for us to head to the cafeteria to get some lunch. We marched behind Becky and went inside the cafeteria and got on the lunch line.

"We eat over there," Becky said, pointing to our table. I noticed that Zack, Tinga, Kenny, Zane, Jack, Eva, Jondy, Krit, and Max had arrived first and had pushed our tables together like we always did.

"Why is pushed together with that table and why are there X5s sitting there?" 728 asked.

"Over here, we have what Colonel Lydecker calls a mentoring program," I explained. "Every X5 unit is paired up with an X6 unit. The X5 unit is supposed to mentor the X6s along and by working together and eating together occasionally, the performances of both units will improve. We're paired up with the top X5 unit, Unit 2."

"Are you guys the best X6 unit here?" 312 said.

"You bet we are," Becky said. We grabbed our trays and sat down at various places around the table. "We had a few soldiers transferred to my unit from the facility in Seattle. This is 312, 334, and 728. Guys, this is X5-599, C.O. of both X5 Unit 2 and the entire squad of X5s here in Gillette, X5-656, X5-987, X5-205, X5-417, X5-766, X5-210, X5-157, and X5-452, second-in-command of both the unit and the X5s here."

"Welcome to Gillette," Max said. "When did you guys get in?"

"Today," 312 said. "Just a little while ago." He started to say anything, but then he noticed the rest of Max's family come in and he, 334, and 728 did a double take and just stared at them. Actually, they were staring at Rena and Ben specifically.

Rena gave them a weird look as she and the rest of the X5s sat down. "Okay...I don't think I've grown a third arm or anything like that."

Max noticed the weird looks but decided not to say anything. "That's the rest of our unit. They're X5s 369, 493, 831, 552, 164, 798, 537, 120, and 701. These are X6-312, X6-334, and X6-728. They were just transferred to 405's unit from Seattle."

"Sorry about that," 312 apologized. "But the two of you have twins or clones or something back in Seattle." He pointed to Rena and Ben. "We saw and talked with 494 and 121 the day before we left to come here. They're even in the same unit together."

"Back the truck up," Rena said. "We have twins?"

"Well, you and 493 do," 334 said.

"Oh," Ben said. He grinned wickedly. "Is he as good looking as I am?" Most of us groaned and Zack rolled his eyes.

"He's identical," 728 said. "And 121 is identical to 120."

"You're as bad as he is," 334 said, but she was giggling. I wonder if she had a crush on Ben's twin.

"Oh my God, there are two of them," Zack said. I tried not to laugh.

"494 is the commanding officer of both his unit and of that facility's X5 squad, just like you are," 334 said to Zack. "And 121 ranks third in both her unit and the squad."

I heard a noise and turned to see Ben banging his head against the table. "Wait a second. You're telling me that my twin who is apparently genetically completely identically to me is the commanding officer of both his unit and that X5 squad and I'm only ranked fifth in my unit and seventh in this squad? How the hell did that happen?"

"Personally, I think the X5s back in Seattle might just not be as good as the X5s here," 728 said helpfully. "494, his second-in-command 511, and 121 are all really good, but every other X5 that I've seen go against any of the three of them didn't seem to come too close. I could even beat at least a good percentage of the X5s when they've had me spar against them. Well, I couldn't beat 494, 511, and 121, but like I said, you know?"

"You're on X5 level?" Becky asked.

"Yeah," 728 said. "I'm on the X5 level physically. I still wasn't ranked at the top of my unit, though."

"Where were you ranked?" I asked.

"I was ranked eighth in my old unit," 728 said. "I was my old unit's field med."

"How about the rest of you?" Becky asked.

"Third in my old unit," 312 said.

"Sixth," 334 said. "I was also our backup comm. specialist."

"Becky, who are these guys?" Brent said as the rest of my unit sat down with us.

"Why did he call you Becky?" 334 asked.

"We have names," Becky said.

"Names?" 312 repeated.

"Yeah," Zack said. "All of us do. We gave ourselves names years ago and when they first started the mentoring program a few years ago, we gave them names as well. If you guys want names too, you can have them."

312, 334, and 728 looked at each other for a few minutes before 312 nodded. "Sure. We'd love to have our own names."

"Is there any ones that you like?" Tinga asked.

"Yeah," 312 said. "When I was on this one mission last year, I got the chance to see this classic horror movie on my off hours. It was so awesome! The name of the director was Wes Craven. I want to name myself Wes, after that director."

"Cool," Becky said. "What about you, 334?"

"This one time, they had 494's unit take us through this exercise out in the woods," 334 said. "During the exercise, one of their unit mates got injured somehow and it was a bad wound." 334 started to look a little green, but she shook her head and continued on. "The sight of it made me sick and I threw up and 494 made a comment about me having to go ralph, which I know now is slang for throwing up, but I actually like Ralph as a name, even if it is really a guy's name so I want that as my name."

"Hey, I'm the same way," Brent said.

"Actually, I like the name Layla," 728 said almost shyly. "On my probation mission, it was the alias of one of the X4s that was also on the mission. I think it's really pretty."

"Well, welcome to the family, Wes, Ralph, and Layla," Max said.

"Family," Wes repeated. He smiled. "Cool."

We re-introduced ourselves, this time giving out our names to Wes, Ralph, and Layla, before we concentrated on our food and we all ate relatively silently for a few minutes before Ralph looked up and noticed some of the expressions on our faces. "You want to know why we're here, don't you?"

"Yeah," Reese said. He winced when he saw the looks on their faces. "It was bad, wasn't it?"

"It was worse," Wes said. He started to tell us what had happened and I couldn't believe it. It must have been horrible for all of them, especially for Wes who'd actually seen the whole thing. I couldn't believe how they'd just lost their entire unit. "...determined who it was who'd leaked the bad information to us, but we didn't hear anything more on that front before we left the Seattle facility."

"Oh my God," Zack said quietly.

"I just hope that if they send some people back there to try to get 941, 111, 520, and 646 back that we go with them," Ralph said angrily. "I want a crack at those fuckers." She looked embarrassed. "Ooops. I didn't mean to use that word."

"No apologies necessary," Max said, shaking her head.

"I hope that they do send somebody back," Layla said.

"They will," Zane said. "Colonel Lydecker doesn't like for somebody to beat him at his own game. There'll be somebody sent for that reason if nothing else."

We were quiet until Wes spoke up again. "So, 4...Becky, what do we have next?"

"We actually have a training mission with these guys here," Becky said. "We'll be getting our briefing on the mission in Room 17 and then we head outside immediately for the start of the mission. It's actually scheduled to take us most of the rest of the day, so we'll be packing some rations with us because we won't be here for dinner."

"I hate field rations," Ralph said. She made a face. "If there's anything else that could make me puke, that's it."

"Is it going to be fives against sixes or are they going to mix us up?" Layla asked.

"They usually mix us up," Max said. "I wouldn't mind going fives against sixes. That could be fun."

"Yeah, because you guys have the numbers," Suzanne said.

"Holy crap, Suzanne, do you always have to whine every time that you might end up on the team with the fewest numbers in an exercise?" I said.

"Yes, I do," Suzanne said. She stuck her tongue out at me. "Thank you very much."

Becky sighed. "That's our family. I hope you realize what you've gotten into."

"Yeah, I'm still good with it," Wes said. He looked down for a moment before he looked back up at us again. His smile also seemed a little bit more forced than it had a moment ago.

I smiled and patted him on the back. "It's okay, Wes. We understand."

Wes smiled back. "Thanks, Kevin."

"You're welcome," I said. Hey, he might be new to our family, but he's still a part of our family now and still my brother. Neither he nor my two new sisters would replace Kyle, but I had a feeling that this was going to work out fine.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, Estel Duath, and angelofdarkness78 for your reviews and support! Also, this Ralph is the same Ralph that appeared in the season 2 episode, "Bag 'Em." When I was writing "Together" for my original AU, I decided to make her a part of 941 (if you haven't read the other AU, I won't give his name away)'s unit and I also made up a designation for her since that wasn't given in the show.


	20. Chapter 20: Rena X5 120

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 20: Rena (X5-120)**

"Do you think that they'll actually be back in time to finish their lunch?" I asked, looking towards the cafeteria doors. A few minutes ago, Zack and Becky had been asked to report to Lydecker's office. I played with my roll for a few moments before I picked it up and took a bite out of it. "If this takes much longer, it can't be good."

"It can't be that bad, either," Jack said. "We've been behaving ourselves."

"Are we the only units here that are as present as they can be?" Brin said. "I think almost every other unit has at least a few people that are out on missions."

"Must be a busy barely-Spring," Max deadpanned. We laughed.

"And a few more weeks and I'll be celebrating the big two-one," Reese said, grinning. "I wish I knew the exact date."

"It'd be pretty funny if you were born on April Fool's Day," Ben said.

Reese rolled his eyes. "You wish, dipshit."

Max calmly reached to either side of her and smacked Reese and Ben in the backs of their heads while the rest of us laughed. "I wish that the two of you would shut the f--heck up. And Reese, for crying out loud, is it too much to ask for you to watch your language in front of the younger guys? We don't want to corrupt them quite yet."

"Hey, I don't give a rat's--" Kevin started to say, but Maggie smacked him in the back of his head. "What was that for, Maggie?"

"Do you see Becky here to do that?" she pointed out.

Kevin looked around and pointed towards the cafeteria entrance. "Yeah, I do. They're back."

Zack and Becky marched towards us and I felt slightly on edge. I could tell that something was up. Zack nodded towards us. "We're excused from our next classes. We need to meet in the library right now." We immediately stood up and put our trays away and formed lines and marched out of the cafeteria and towards the library. We found a table in the library big enough for all thirty-four of us and sat down around it and turned to face Zack and Becky.

"What's the good word?" I asked.

"We're being deployed in three days," Zack said. He opened the folder that he had been carrying when he'd returned to the cafeteria. "We're going to Poland."

"Finally," Wes said. He cracked his knuckles.

"What's the dealio?" Max asked.

"It's a foreign project," Zack said. "The operation is similar to Manticore. It's a joint effort by rogue members of the Polish, Lithuanian, and Slovakian governments and military forces. Officially, none of those countries have any genetic engineering projects, not even in the way that Manticore is a covert op for the U.S. government. These officials from those countries got together and decided that it would be beneficial to start up a project like this to protect their interests. The soldiers rotate between the location in Poland where they are currently based and two other bases, one in Lithuania and the other in Slovakia. The other two bases are currently unmanned other than a skeleton crew of staff and ordinary guards. Two X-series units from the facility in Syracuse will be responsible for taking out those two bases, one unit per base"

"Where does that leave us?" Ralph asked. "And what exactly are these guys made of?"

"They're human-animal hybrids, similar to if not exactly like us," Zack said. "The exact composition of their DNA is unknown at the present time, but they do function on a level equivalent to that of the top-rated X6s like Becky. That's all the information that she and I were given."

"Why is that?" Jace wondered.

Becky shook her head. "There was a mole for their group within Manticore, like Wes had told us. When he was brought into Psy Ops for interrogation, they used a combination of a telecoercion-specialist Psy Ops soldier and standard interrogation techniques assisted by psychoactives. Before any more information could have been gathered from the subject concerning the enemies, he died. According to the reports from the autopsy and the toxicology tests, the subject had taken a drug that when upon interacting with almost all known psychoactives that are used for interrogation causes a fatal reaction. The drug used by the subject usually causes this fatal reaction almost immediately after the psychoactive is administered and the only reason that it didn't take that quickly and the people in Psy Ops got as much intel as they did was because the subject took this drug improperly."

"So we have no idea on how many of these guys that are there?" Krit said. "How many did you run into, guys?"

"They matched our numbers," Wes recalled. "There were sixteen in our unit total. Layla stayed back at our camp ready to treat any soldiers that would return injured and Ralph was a few yards outside of the building just outside of the compound perimeter monitoring comms and surveillance. The other fourteen of us, including myself, went inside the building and that was how many enemy soldiers that we ran into. Three of them were confirmed kills, one by me, one by 252 and both of those by gunshot, and the third a hand-to-hand kill by 941. At least two others were injured but still alive when I got out of there." He snorted in disgust. "We were taught to fight even better in teams than as individuals and we couldn't save ourselves. I couldn't..."

Tinga put a hand on Wes' back. "You were caught completely off-guard, Wes. Any of us would react like that if we had been put in a similar situation. That can't and it definitely won't happen this time. We're going to go in there and get your other brothers and sister out. You're going to give everything back to those men and then some. Okay?"

"Okay," Wes said.

"What do we have to do?" I asked.

"Our job is to go inside, rescue the P.O.W.s, retrieve at least one of those bas--enemy soldiers so that Manticore can study them, get any and all of the intelligence that we can on their operation, and blow the place to bits," Zack said. I had to resist a smirk when I saw the look in Zack's eyes. He normally wouldn't wish anybody to be experimented on by the sadists that are known as most of the doctors here, but these assholes had messed with our family. Mess with us and you can kiss our collective asses, not to mention kissing your own ass good-bye.

"Because we're not sure of the exact numbers of the enemy, the strike team is going to be pretty large," Becky said. "Not only will all of us being going out on this mission, but another full unit of X5s from the Seattle facility will be accompanying us. They'll be arriving here tomorrow morning and the following day we have our final briefings and preparations and the day after that we move out." I nodded and then paused. For the first time this entire briefing, Becky's eyes had a hint of amusement in them. I noticed that Zack had a similar look.

"Okay, what gives?" I said.

"The X5s from Seattle that are also going on this mission is Unit 3," Zack said. Wes started to laugh outright and Ralph and Layla had giggling fits.

"That's just too funny," Layla said.

"Why is it too funny?" Eva asked.

Layla giggled again. "Because that's 494 and 121's unit."

My jaw dropped. I was actually going to be meeting my twin sister for the first time since we were newborns? Holy fuck! I looked across the table from me and sure enough, Ben looked about as stunned as I was.

"My twin and Rena's are going to be on the mission with us," he said slowly. "Whoa."

"494 will be co-commanding officer with me on this mission," Zack said. "Likewise, Max will share second-in-command duties with X5-511." He took some pieces of paper out of the folder and handed it to Zane, who was sitting next to him. "This is information on the members of Seattle X5 Unit 3. Pass it around."

I waited patiently for my turn and when it finally was, my eyes naturally went to the paragraph describing 121 and her specialties. I couldn't help smiling a little. She was one of the fastest members of her unit and excelled as a sniper and with other forms of weapons as well as in Escape and Evade, just like me. I quickly looked over the rest of the information and handed it to Jondy. "121 has the same strengths and weaknesses that I do. I guess we've got three good snipers on this mission."

Jondy nodded as she read over the stats and then handed them to Max. "Funny, if you and 121 have the same strengths and weaknesses, then how come I didn't see 'narcissistic smart ass' listed under 494?"

"Charming," Ben remarked.

"I always aim to please," Jondy said.

Max looked a little thoughtful as she passed the information onto Brin. "What about the people in charge of these guys? The ass--jerks, I mean. Do you have anything on specifically who they are? Who's in direct command of these people?"

"We don't have that information," Zack confessed. "The subject died before he could divulge that."

"If we're lucky, it won't be too hard to get that information from their computers," Parker said. "I haven't met a system that I haven't been able to hack into remotely yet and with Xavier and 714 from 494's unit, I don't see any reason why I won't be able to this time around. Plus, if all else fails, there's always Psy Ops for the lucky moron that we bring back from Poland. Speaking of which, are we going to be bringing somebody from Psy Ops for a field interrogation?"

"The answer to that one is actually yes," Becky said. "Her designation is P2-400 and she's also from the Seattle facility and according to the information that we were given by Lydecker, she's one of Seattle's top telecoercion specialists. Her stats are also included in the information that's being passed around right now."

"It seems like we're set up as well as we can be at this point," Wayne said.

"It looks that way," Zack said. "Let's go over this again to make sure that we're set up even better." We eagerly began going over all of the information piece by piece. Hey, I wanted these bastards to be getting one rude surprise in a few days. Wouldn't you?

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to purple shimmer, sirena1, angelofdarkness78, Kelzaa, CrimsonReality, and Estel Duath for their reviews and support! sirena1, the focus will shift mostly back to the X5s at this point though a few later parts will be from an X6s P.O.V. and one of the chapters that takes place while they are on the mission will go back-and-forth between different character's P.O.V.s, it will be most likely mainly focusing on the X5s from here on out. As for the Max/Zack, don't worry. That and some other pairings (not necessarily the same ones from the other AU) will be coming up soon, starting in another two or three chapters at the most. Thank you all so much again!


	21. Chapter 21: X5 494

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: At least for the time being, Alec, Biggs, and other transgenics that were on the show in S2 that will appear in this fic will be referred to by their designations for the time being.

**Chapter 21: X5-494**

I led my unit and P2-400 down the corridor towards the guest barracks that Colonel Lydecker was directing us towards. I kept my face as expressionless as any X-series ever did, but my stomach was doing somersaults. Hey, I'm going to meet my identical twin for the first time in…well, I guess for the first time. I don't think seeing each other as newborns really counts since we had to have been days old at most when they split us up. I mentally shook my head and stopped when Colonel Lydecker paused in front of a door.

"These are the barracks that you will be staying in for the next two days as well as for the day or two after your return from the mission while you are being debriefed," he said. "494 has your schedules for today. Get settled in. X5s, you will report to Yard C and P2-400, you will report to Yard F for line up and roll call at precisely 0645. X5s, you will be lining up behind Unit 8. That is all. I will see you tomorrow morning for your final briefings and preparations for the mission."

We saluted the guy and when he left us, I opened the door and we all walked inside. Great, we were all sharing one room. I looked around the room. It looked pretty much like the barracks that we had shared before they'd split us up and put us into our own cells except that there were two doors where there had only been one bathroom door. I shrugged and went inside and threw my duffel bag down onto a bunk. "You heard the man. Let's get our things put away."

511 dropped his own bag on the bunk to my right and sat down and grinned. "Not a bad deal so far. What do you think, boss?"

"Not any worse than back home," I agreed. I raised my voice a little bit. "Okay, people, listen up. Unit 3, our schedule is as follows: After breakfast, we're in the indoor firing range from 0800 until 0900 and then we've got a two-unit martial arts lesson in the gym with the X5 unit that we'll be going on the mission with from 0915 until 1115. From 1130 until 1230 we're running the obstacle course. Lunch is after that and after lunch at 1330, we're going to be running a round of Capture the Flag against the X6 unit that is also assigned to the mission. We have nothing on the schedule after that until we have to report to the cafeteria for dinner sometime between 1800 and 1815 hours. Our final activity for the day is a Culture lesson in Lecture Hall 2 at 1900 hours and then we're free until lights out which is at the same time here as it is back home. Tomorrow after lineup, roll call, and then breakfast, we'll be reporting immediately to the mission prep area. 400, today you are to report to this facility's Psychological Operations area after breakfast and again after lunch, and then you are to report to the indoor firing range at 1500 and remain there until 1600 and you are to report back to Psychological Operations and then after dinner, you have two hours in the gym from 1900 until 2100 and then back to Psychological Operations until lights out. Tomorrow, you will report to mission prep with the rest of us. Anybody, any questions?"

"Sir, no, sir!" Some of them were more enthusiastic than others. A bunch of them were even rolling their eyes, but I didn't care. One of the few good things that I could say about most of the people in my unit was that they actually could set all of the crap aside when it was time to get a mission done, even 908 and she's about as big of a loose cannon as they come.

121 sat down on the bunk on my left and started to unpack her things. "Is it just me, 494, or do you have this weird feeling like you're about to step into The Twilight Zone?"

"Something along those lines," I agreed. I shrugged and started to unload my own things. "Not much that either of us can do. It probably won't be as bad as we're thinking that it might be." I grinned. "One of them is my twin, after all."

"Yeah, that's why it's going to be that bad," 121 deadpanned.

"Speaking of that bad, what do you think about the mission?" 511 asked. He slammed his trunk shut and sat back down on his bunk and faced me. "Just from what sketchy intel we have, these guys sound pretty fucked up. Even with the strike force as large as it is, this is not going to be an easy mission by any stretch of the imagination."

"The intelligence is ridiculously incomplete for a mission of this magnitude," I agreed. "That's not even counting the fact that the intelligence that 312, 334, 728, and the rest of their old unit were given was an almost complete load of shit. It's never a good sign when we have to get the other half of our information when we actually get there, but we have to make the best of it." I shrugged. "I think that rates an extra M-80 down their plumbing, don't you think so, 121?"

"Give it a rest," 121 said, looking exasperated. 511 and I laughed at her. "Just because I did that one time on one mission when our target's son wouldn't leave me alone doesn't mean that I'll be doing it again. And for the record, tweedledee and tweedledumbass, it didn't cost us the mission at all and the jerk wasn't hurt…badly. The plumbing system in the creep's home was much worse off than the guy."

"Which one of us is tweedledee and which one of us is tweedledumbass?" I wondered.

"Well, I'm not a dumbass, so I guess that would make me tweedledee," 511 said cheerfully.

"You're right, 511, you're not a dumbass. You're a complete imbecile," 121 said sweetly. The three of us laughed.

I turned and looked at the clock on the wall. "It looks like it's time for us to get going for lineup and roll call. 400, do you know where you have to be?"

400 nodded and smiled. It was a little creepy that somebody, especially somebody from Psy Ops, smiles as much as 400 does, but she's actually really nice so I don't mind it so much. "Yes, sir. I know where Yard F is."

237 snorted. "What, did you read Colonel Lydecker's mind to figure it out?"

400 just kept on smiling. "No, silly, I'm a telecoercion specialist, not a telepath. The colonel gave us the basic directions to get to some of the major locations in this facility on the way over. Don't you remember?" 237 looked angry, but he decided against threatening her. That makes for a nice change. Then again, it isn't a good idea to threaten anybody from Psy Ops. Physically, 400 is almost as strong and fast as us, but she could really do a number on our heads if she wanted to. On her last trip to Psy Ops, 908 had ran into another X5 who was coming out and had been worked over by 400 and she had said that he could barely remember his own barcode number.

"Come on, people, let's get going," I said. I went to the door and they formed a line behind me in rank order and we marched out to the correct yard for lineup and roll call. I took a deep breath as we left the building and marched out to where the Wyoming X5s were arriving and forming lines. I couldn't get a good look at either 493 or 120 for that matter so I just went and formed a line behind the last unit there. The trainers arrived and we began to go down the list. They called out Wyoming's Unit 1 and then moved on to the next unit. I bit my lip. Relax, 494. It's just roll call. So what if you're going to hear your long-lost twin respond to his designation? No big deal.

"Okay, Unit 2!" the trainer shouted. "599."

"X5-599 reporting for duty, sir!"

"452."

"X5-452 reporting for duty, sir!"

"656."

"X5-656 reporting for duty, sir!"

"205."

"X5-205 reporting for duty, sir!"

"493."

"X5-493 reporting for duty, sir!"

I almost jumped out of my skin. That was my voice! 494, you moron, that wasn't your voice. That was your twin's voice. You are identical, remember? It makes perfect sense that his voice would also sound the same as yours. What were you expecting, him to sound like a freaking chicken?

"987."

"X5-987 reporting for duty, sir!"

"120."

"X5-120 reporting for duty, sir!"

I glanced out of the corner of me eye to my right and saw 121's eyes widen for a moment when she heard her own twin's voice for the first time. She saw me looking at her and we gave each other a quick smile. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one in this boat.

"That was creepy," 121 whispered.

"Tell me about it," I whispered back.

"Both of you, shut up," 786 whispered in disgust, looking over at us and rolling her eyes. The trainer closest to us might not have caught what any of us had said, but he sure as hell caught 786 breaking her stance.

"Eyes front, soldier!" he screamed. 786 immediately faced forward and stiffened her posture. I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw that 121 had relaxed a little bit. I felt a little bit more loose, myself. I might know now that I have a twin, but nothing else has changed.

We got through the rest of roll call and were dismissed to go to breakfast. We turned around and started to march back inside. Several other units passed as, some of them not even bothering to pretend that they weren't looking at 121 and myself. Geez, could they look like any bigger idiots. Apparently, 121 thought the same thing.

"What, you're acting like you've never seen twins or clones before," she said, annoyed.

"Yeah, they've led a sheltered existence. It's not their fault, really."

121 started to turn around. "Very funny, 49—" She stopped abruptly and jumped when she realized that it wasn't me that had made that remark, but 493. "What the flying fuck?" She shook her head. "Great, they couldn't have removed that gene from at least one of them, could they?"

"I guess that proves that we're natural identical twins as opposed to clones, then," I said cheerfully. Both 493 and I laughed. I'm starting to like my twin. I saw the rest of 493's unit approach us. Looks like it's time for introductions! One of them, a blond guy about 908's age, stepped up to me and held out his hand.

"I'm 599. C.O. of Unit 2 here. I'm your co-Commanding Officer on the mission," he said.

I nodded and took his hand and shook it. "Good to meet you. I'm 494, C.O. of Seattle's Unit 3. These are my unit mates, 511, he's my second-in-command, 121, 786, 665, 013, 304, 908, 237, 714, 859, 107, 619, 263, 295, 532, 578, and 967."

"It's good to meet you," 599 said. He'll be changing his tune when he gets to know the rest of us. He gestured to his people. "This is my unit. This is 452, she's my second-in-command, and this is 656, 205, 493, 987, 120, 734, 369, 701, 210, 157, 164, 766, 798, 552, 831, 537, and 417. We eat meals with the X6s that are assigned to this mission. You can meet them then."

"Why do you do that?" 107 asked.

"We have a mentoring program here," 452 said. "Colonel Lydecker established it years ago. Basically, an X5 unit is paired up with an X6 unit and mentors them along as they go through the stuff that we've gone through. Pretty simple. I think both our unit and theirs have gotten better because of it."

"That's interesting," 511 said honestly. "Speaking of the X6s, I read in the information that Director Renfro gave 494 that 312, 334, and 728 had been transferred to that unit. How are they? Are they okay?"

"They're doing pretty well, all things considered," 656 said. "They're tough."

"Who cares? I've heard enough about how their unit got taken out to last me for a few lifetimes," 908 said disgustedly. "We know what happened, we're going to do something about it, let's shut up about it already."

I raised an eyebrow. "That was uncalled for, 908."

"Sorry, sir," 908 said insolently. 120 walked up to 908 and just looked at her for a few minutes. 908 looked up at her in annoyance. "What are you looking at, you twin bitch?"

"Are you constipated?" 120 asked innocently. Her face was completely innocent-looking, but I could see the twinkle in her eyes that meant that she was being a smart-ass, just like with 121. 121 turned around and buried her head in my shoulder to muffle her laughter. I couldn't help snickering a little.

"Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about?" 908 snapped.

"Are you constipated, 908?" 120 said, her voice and face still as innocent as could be. "You look like you're having a lot of trouble with it. Do you need to go to the infirmary to get something to help?" I felt and heard 121 laugh even harder. 908's face turned bright red, but she held her tongue and instead stalked down the hall and waited for us and the corner with her back to us.

121 lifted her head from my shoulder and wiped her eyes. "That was good."

"I just call them like I see them," 120 said, grinning.

599 raised an eyebrow. "R—120, that was unnecessary."

"Don't worry about it, it's nothing that 908 doesn't get from 121 on occasion. She'll be fine," I said. 599 looked skeptical. "It's okay. I'll explain later." 599 continued to look skeptical for another few moments before he finally nodded.

"Okay," he said. "We'll be seeing you in the gym at 0915." He and his unit left.

"They're as bad as the two of you," 786 said. "It's a conspiracy. Of all the people that could have been cloned or have been identical twins, whatever it happens to be, it has to be the two of you. That's pathetic."

"It's great, isn't it?" I said. "Come on. Let's get some food. We've got a long day ahead of us."

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to CrimsonReality, angelofdarkness78, and sirena1 for your reviews and support!


	22. Chapter 22: Wayne X5 369

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 22: Wayne (X5-369)**

I made sure that my M16 was within easy reach as I looked down as Parker, Xavier, and 714 from 494's unit opened up their laptops and started to attach network antennae and other necessary peripherals and got down to work. 121 was somewhere up above us in a tree with her sniper rifle and 494 was standing next to me, in charge of the group and also standing guard. Sitting on the ground next to Parker, Xavier, and 714 were Karen and 494's surveillance expert, 263, waiting for the other group to finish hacking into the enemy's computers so that they and Parker could hack into the security cameras and have a look around inside. The rest of the strike team were back at the hotel that we were all staying at in a nearby town. I kept my eyes and ears open for any signs of the enemies doing patrols outside of the perimeter but I didn't hear or see a thing.

"How's it going?" 494 asked.

"Almost...got it, we're in," Parker said. He exchanged some gestures with Xavier and 714 and then the three of them took a CD and put it into their respective laptops and started to copy the data. "This is going to take a little while. They've got plenty of data."

"Estimated time for the data transfer?" I asked.

"I'd say at least fifteen minutes, possibly as long as thirty," 714 said. "So far, they haven't detected us in their systems."

"Good. Keep it up," 494 said. We were silent for a few minutes.

"What's the craziest thing you've ever done while out on a mission, whether it was done in order to complete the objective or just something you did on your off hours just for the hell of it?" I asked 494.

"This girl Jessie in Toronto last year when I had to go there to assassinate somebody at a conference," 494 said. We laughed, though we kept our laughter quiet. "Seriously, I don't really know. What about you?"

"Had a mission in Brazil a few months ago," I said. I grinned. "I went BASE jumping. Holy crap, that was awesome. 701 was on the mission with me and when I went jumping on our off hours, she thought I had officially lost my mind." I shrugged. "I have a tendency to pull off insane stunts. I'm kind of an adrenaline junkie. Hell, some of my f--teammates even call me Evel Knievel once in awhile as a nickname. 210 is the same way."

"Don't forget to tell him about the time that you jumped off of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco when you went on a mission there when you were eighteen," Karen said.

"The Golden Gate?" 494 repeated.

"Yeah, I was on a mission in San Francisco with 210, 452, 471, 120, and 205 at the time," I said. I grinned as I recalled those three weeks. "Brilliant idea, wasn't it? Get the six biggest adrenaline junkies in the unit and possibly in the entire facility in Wyoming and send them on a mission together where there's someplace high enough for them to do something stupid off of. It was a blast. The night before we had to return to Gillette, we went out to the bridge and we dared each other to jump off the top into the river. First, we only had to just jump off of it and then we kept adding back flips and other shit before we had to get out of there before we could be spotted. Not to mention that all of us except for 452 and 210 had to sleep. That time really was fun, though." I stopped and we all looked around when we heard a branch snap.

263 sighed irritably. "Sorry. I broke the twig when I moved around a little bit."

"Be more careful next time, 263," 494 said. "369, what do you think--"

"Sir, I've found information about the status of the missing X6s," Xavier interrupted.

"Good news or bad?" 494 asked.

Xavier winced. That was not a good sign. "Both, sir."

"Let's have it," 494 told him.

"941 and 111 are still alive," Xavier said. "Unfortunately, 520 and 646 are both dead. According to this, 646 was killed during the ambush, I guess after 312 managed to escape, and 520 died two days ago after the enemy scientists at this base performed various tests on him."

"What kinds of tests?" I asked.

Xavier made a face. "You name it, they did it." He was starting to look a little green, which had me a little bit unnerved. Xavier didn't get squeamish as easily as Brent or Ralph did.

494 saw this as well and put a hand on one of Xavier's shoulders. "It's okay, 058. You don't have to go into detail now. We can discuss this further when we get back to the hotel. Anything further on the status of 941 and 111?"

"The experiments that had been performed on X6-520 are scheduled to be performed on X6-111 in four days," Xavier reported. "941 is scheduled to undergo the same procedures a week from when they are due to be performed on 111. I guess they need the time to go over the results. That should work for us, right?"

"Absolutely. I've got a feeling that we won't even need that long before they want to work on 111," 494 agreed. A few more minutes passed and they finally finished obtaining the data and they quickly severed the link between their laptops and the enemy's systems. Parker swiftly and efficiently removed the peripherals from his laptop and attached some different ones and he waited for Karen and 263 to open their own laptops and attach the correct peripherals and they got to work, getting into the security cameras inside the building in a matter of minutes. 494 nodded in approval. "Start looking for the locations of 941 and 111."

"I've found 941, sir," Karen said a few moments later. "He's in the West section of the building, second floor." She typed a few commands into her laptop and the view from the security camera zoomed in on 941, who was lying on his cell's bunk, deep in thought. "He seems to be in good condition, sir."

"I've got the location of 111," Parker said. He also zoomed in on 111. "East section of the building, third floor. He also appears to be in good condition."

494 nodded. "714, were there facility maps included in the data that you, 537, and 058 obtained?"

"Yes, sir," 714 said. "It should be easy to map out the locations of 941 and 111 once we have them printed out."

"Good," 494 said. He made a whistle that sounded like a local songbird and a moment later, 121 climbed down from her tree. "Let's pack our gear up and get back to the others and fill them in. We're moving out."

We quickly packed up our gear and moved stealthily through the forest until we'd gotten to a temporary camp that we'd set up. We quickly changed out of our forest camouflage and back into street clothes and then we continued through the forest until we exited it and walked until we reached the van that we'd driven over. We got in and drove back to the hotel. On our way there, I called ahead on one of the secure cell phones that we had been given to let the others know that we were on our way back. When we reached the hotel, we got out and headed straight for one of the conference rooms inside. The others were already inside when we entered the room.

"What do you have for us?" Zack asked.

"A lot of data to go through," 494 said.

"What about 941, 111, 520, and 646, sir?" Wes asked eagerly.

494 shook his head sadly. "520 and 646 are now confirmed to be K.I.A. I'm really sorry, kid."

"Oh," Wes said quietly. He blinked a few times as he tried not to cry. I felt so bad for him and for Ralph and Layla as well, who were also trying not to break down in front of everybody. "What about 941 and 111?"

"They're alive and they appear to be well," I said. "All hope isn't lost, 312."

"Exactly," 494 said. "537, plug in your laptop and let's go through this. It's going to take awhile." Parker nodded and took his laptop and plugged it into the room's projector. He picked up the remote and hit a button and a screen came down from the ceiling. Parker pressed another button and the screen lit up with the screen on the laptop. "What do you think, 599, should we go over just who these guys are first?"

"Makes sense to me," Zack agreed. "Which one of you has the CD with that information?"

"I do, sir," 714 said. She pulled the jewel case that contained the CD out of her backpack and went over to the laptop and inserted it into the drive and navigated to the correct information. "Here we go."

Zack nodded. "Thank you, 714. 369, take us through their genetic and biological information."

"Yes, sir," I said. I stood and looked over the information that was on the screen, analyzing it quickly in my mind. I nodded to myself before I began to speak to the others and I began to run down their DNA composition and other related information. I looked out at everybody once I had finished voicing my analysis. "Questions?"

Jace raised her hand. "I've got a question. If these guys are about the same age as some of us X5s, then how did they get to this kind of a level physically when it took us another generation down to get there and even then that was spotty until another two generations after them?"

"I have no idea," I said. "I don't have access to any of our specific DNA profiles so I can't do a side-by-side comparison. That question might be answered in the information that we have yet to uncover."

"Thank you, 369," Zack said. "537, continue on." Parker moved through the information until Zack gestured for him to stop. "Here's some answers. They're the only genetically-engineered soldiers that this group has, where as Manticore has various series of transgenics, each with multiple generations or sub-series. They also don't have the kind of funding that Manticore does, which caused them to focus their attention on creating this one specific generation. They were able to put all of their time and effort into them."

"Going for quality instead of quantity, huh?" 511 said.

"Pretty much," Zack said. He skimmed the information and nodded. "They had a total of thirty of these soldiers to begin with, so now their numbers are down to twenty-seven. That gives us close to two-to-one odds." He frowned. "Even so, we can't go in there en masse and attack that way. We need to take a step-by-step approach to this operation." He paused. "I need to see information on the layout of the base and where their sentries are." Parker, Xavier, and 714 shuffled around as they accessed the information that Zack wanted and brought it up on the screen.

"It doesn't appear to be any information on the position of the sentries," Parker said. "We're going to have to go blind on that one."

"Point out the locations of 941 and 111," 494 ordered. Xavier stood up and took out a laser pointer and pointed at the correct portions of the diagram. "What does it say about the security in those areas?"

"Unfortunately, they're not complete idiots," Parker said after he sifted through the information. "The area where they are holding 941 is under tighter security than the area where they are keeping 111, not that his location is under light security itself."

Zack looked thoughtful as he looked everything over. "Do they have any idea that we're here now or that Manticore will mount a rescue mission in the near future?"

"If I had to guess, I would say no," Max said. "If I was in charge over there and I knew that we were coming back to try to rescue 941 and 111, I would have put the two of them together in the same cell or at least have put them in cells that were next to each other in a section of the building near a location that we would have to pass through to get out that would also make a great place for a second ambush. They've got them separated and in opposite ends of the building and I don't see any place too terribly close to either of their cells that would make a good ambush point."

"What about demolitions?" Becky asked. "What kind of firepower is necessary to take out the building once we rescue the P.O.W.s and take out or at least incapacitate the enemies? Are we looking at a multi-person job?"

"Definitely," Zane said. "We'll need myself, 144, and 237 and another two soldiers who are proficient with explosives. The other buildings in this compound are definitely uninhabitable, correct?" Parker nodded and Zane looked a little relieved. "That saves some time and man power, but it's still going to be a five-member team for optimal success, plus at least another soldier for lookout while we set the charges. Who among this group excels with explosives?" Becky, Zack, Ben, 494, Wes, Suzanne, and 665 raised their hands.

"Excellent," Zack said. "I have a basic plan. First, 120, 121, and 773 will move out and take position up in the trees on sniper duty. The three of you can discuss where exactly you want to be placed. I leave the exact placement up to you. Second, we send two people in to retrieve 941 and 111." He glanced over at 494. "With all due respect, 494, I'd like to have 405 go in for 941 and 452 go in for 111 based on their abilities and specialties."

"Sounds good to me, 599," 494 agreed. "What's next?"

"We set up an ambush of our own," Zack said. "Actually, we'll be setting up two of them using the two pairs of 405 and 941 and 452 and 111 as bait." He took out a laser pointer of his own and circled two areas of the floor plan for the building. "Right here and right here. 405, you will lead 941 over to this area and 452, you will lead 111 over to this area. When they realize that the P.O.W.s have been freed, they should split their soldiers up and send them after us. Take out as many of them as you can before you reach the respective points. We'll have two groups waiting for them. When it's been confirmed that the soldiers are in pursuit of the bait, then the explosives team goes in and sets the charges. As for that particular team, joining 205, 144, and 237 should be 392 and 665." He looked back over at 494 and waited for him to confirm his choices, which 494 did. "205 will be in command of that team."

"304, would you like to join that team to act as lookout and guard?" 494 asked.

304 nodded. "Yes, sir."

"691 and 728 will remain behind in our camp to treat possible incoming injuries," 494 said. "400 will also remain back at the camp. On comm. and surveillance duty outside of the perimeter will be 537, 367, 662, and 263. All other soldiers will be going inside as one of the two ambush groups." We discussed who would be going into which group, which took a few minutes. I don't know why, but I guess 494 had his reasons for wanting certain members of his unit in one group and others in another. "It looks like we're set. Everybody's on their own until 0430 tomorrow morning. We move out then and I want our camp in the forest set up and everybody ready to go by 0530 at the absolute latest. Okay, you're all dismissed."

We all saluted Zack and 494 and most of 494's unit left the conference room almost immediately. Becky and her siblings and P2-400 also left, though not as quickly as 494's teammates did. My brothers and sisters and I, plus 494, 511, and 121 stayed behind in the room. "I think this is going to go pretty well tomorrow," I said. "I've got a good feeling about it." I stretched my arms. "Hey, 494, what was the deal with how you wanted the rest of your unit mates split up among the two ambush groups tomorrow?"

494 shrugged. "I didn't want certain people together in case they would start fighting each other during the melee. They haven't let me down during a mission in that way before, but I don't see why I should have to take a chance on it, you know what I mean?"

"I guess so," I said.

"What is with your unit?" Kenny asked. "Other than the fact that 786 seems to be a whore."

121 snorted. "How many of the guys in your unit has she hit on so far?"

"All of us men," Jack said. "She even hit on Zack."

"Bitch," Max said automatically. That was interesting. Are we in a possessive mood today, Maxie?

"Oh?" 121 said, raising an eyebrow.

Max shrugged. "She was being a bitch to Zack when he turned her down."

"Yeah," 121 said. She didn't look like she completely believed Max.

"What?" Max said.

"I--never mind," Jondy said.

"Never mind what, Jondy?" Max said.

"I didn't say anything, Maxie," Jondy said innocently.

"Whatever," Max said.

"Huh?" 511 said.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"What was that deal? Jondy, Maxie...what was that?" 511 said.

"Oh," Jondy said. She winced for a moment. "We kind of named ourselves."

"You did?" 121 said curiously.

"Yeah," Rena said. "Years ago, when we were pretty little." She smiled. "I'm Rena." The rest of us went around and told 494, 511, and 121 our names. "That's the whole gang. Well, us and the X6s. When the mentoring program starting in Wyoming, they decided to give themselves names, too."

"Wow, does that mean that it's our turn?" 494 said in mock awe. I couldn't help laughing a little bit. I liked the dude. He was pretty funny.

121 rolled her eyes and slapped him across the back of his head. "Do you have to be such a smart aleck all of the time, 494?"

"What did you say? I didn't quite hear you," 494 teased. This time, Ben, Krit, Zane, Kenny, and 511 joined me in laughing at 494's remark.

"You...are...a...smart...aleck," 121 said slowly.

"Well, I know that I'm smart, but does that make me Alec?" 494 said, grinning.

121 started to reply, but paused and looked thoughtful. "You know, it could if you want to."

"I think I do," 494 said. He nodded and smiled again. "I like that name."

"It seems to fit you," Max remarked.

"If you think this is bad, try having to be around him almost 24-7 all of the time," 121 said. "He'd drive--oh wait, you live with Ben. Close enough."

"Hey!" Ben said. "I'm not that big of a smart ass. Well, not all of the time."

"Do you want a name, 121?" Tinga asked.

"I'd love to have one," 121 said. She smiled. "I always loved the name Sasha."

Alec grinned wickedly. "Hey, isn't that the Russian nickname for Alexander or Alexandra? I'm touched that you want to name yourself after me."

"I'm not naming myself after you, jerk. My name is Sasha, not Alexandra," Sasha said. "Wayne, you're a field med. Do you have a needle on you that's big enough to suck some of the ego out of his head?"

"Oh, you love me," Alec said.

"You wish I did, you moron," Sasha said, but she grinned.

"That's nice to see you two children learning to play with each other," 511 said. That got more laughs out of us.

"Yeah, you big s--"

"Play nice, boys," Sasha teased. "Were you going to call 511 by something nasty?"

"Actually, you can call me Biggs," 511 said suddenly. "I don't know what you were going to say after big, but Biggs sounds good to me."

"Glad that I could help you, buddy," Alec said.

"Well, the night is young and we don't have to be up until the crack of dawn tomorrow," Jondy said. "We should do something relaxing before we go out and give those bastards what they deserve. It's not good to be tense."

"Some people have to get sleep," I reminded her.

"Some people don't give a shit," Jondy mimicked. She flipped me off.

"I'm sorry about them," Zack said.

Alec shook his head. "Don't be sorry. You've seen how my unit has acted when we haven't been planning or training the day or two before we came over here. If you think these two are bad, you haven't seen shit. My unit has so many screws loose it's ridiculous."

We nodded and just stood around for a few moments, not knowing quite what to say. Awkward silences really get on my nerves. What I wouldn't give for a cliff or something to jump off of or a motorcycle to pull a few stunts with. Finally, Jace spoke up. "I saw a dartboard in the hotel game room. I think I'll throw a few rounds. It helps me keep a clear head."

"There's a pool table in there, also," Ben said. "Alec, you want to play a few rounds?"

"Sure," Alec said. "May the best twin win."

"But neither Sasha nor I are playing," Rena said innocently.

"And you said that I was a smart ass?" Alec said to Sasha, who just grinned at him.

"Come on," I said. "I want to see Ben actually beat somebody at pool."

"Very funny, Wayne," Ben remarked. We laughed and headed for the game room.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78, purple shimmer, and CrimsonReality for their reviews and support!


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: This chapter will be going back-and-forth between different character's points-of-view.

**Chapter 23**

**Layla (X6-728)**

We started to unload everything and get things set up in our camp at one end of the forest. I was getting more nervous by the second as the déjà vu started to set in. We'd done pretty much the same things the first time around when it had been my un—my old unit and we'd gone in to investigate the seemingly abandoned base and once again, I would be behind waiting for everybody to come back. Last time that happened, only Wes and Ralph had come back. I didn't want it to happen again. I was really starting to like my new brothers and sisters and I didn't want to lose any of them and definitely not Wes and Ralph. I shivered as I set out some medical supplies. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Becky glance at me from where she was checking over her weapons and set them down and walk over to me.

"Is something wrong, Layla?" she asked.

"I'm really worried, Becky," I said. "This happened the last time. I mean, everybody getting this camp together and…"

Becky smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it. This isn't the last time. Our team is much larger, we're completely prepared, you won't be alone because Maggie and 400 will be here at the camp with you, and most importantly, we will be bringing back 941 and 111. I promise."

I reached over and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Becky."

"You're welcome," Becky said. She walked back over to her gear and I took a deep breath and went back to setting up the medical supplies. Maggie finished setting out some gauze and antibiotics and walked over to me.

"Becky was giving you a pep talk?" she guessed.

"Yeah," I said.

"She's right," Maggie said. "It's going to turn out very different than how the last time did. You don't have to worry."

"You don't sound as convinced as she did," I pointed out.

Maggie shrugged. "I guess. I'll be honest. I'm nervous as hell myself. This is most likely one of the most dangerous missions that we've ever undertaken, but I think that we'll pull it off. Becky's a fantastic commander and with her and Zack and Alec and everybody, we've got an equally fantastic team. I think that we'll pull it off without too many problems. Lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice."

"Yeah," I agreed. "It doesn't."

* * *

**Kenny (X5-987)**

I did my final checks on my handguns before I smiled in satisfaction and put them in their holsters. I double-checked to make sure that my rifle strap was secure and walked over to where Sasha was checking over the components of her sniper rifle and loading them into a case. "Hey, there. Everything looking good?"

"Yeah, everything looks pretty good," she said. "My equipment's in pretty good shape. I'll be ready in case anybody decides to make an unwelcome appearance." She placed the final component in the case and shut it and strapped it to her back. "How about you? Are you ready to go?"

"I'm as ready as I'm going to be," I said. "Got everything that I need and it all seems to be working properly." I looked around. "So…have you been out on anything on this kind of a scale before?"

Sasha looked thoughtful. "No, not like this. I've been on missions with my entire unit before, but this is the first multiple unit mission that I've ever been on."

"Same here," I said. I cleared my throat. Whoa, what was with the nerves, Kenny? She's just Rena's twin. It's not like you haven't seen that face every day since Rena was brought into regular training when she was two years old.

"Got something in your throat?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah, just some dust or dirt or something like that," I said. Hey idiots, roll out the red carper for me because it looks like I've just been appointed as your leader! "I'm fine."

"Yeah, you are," Sasha said, looking at me. She blushed. "I mean, you seem like you're in perfect health to me."

Was she just checking me out? I smiled. "Yeah, I am. You look—"

"Kenny, if you look at me like that when we get back home to Wyoming, I will kill you," Rena interrupted.

"Look at you like what?" I said.

Rena rolled her eyes as Sasha walked away to talk with Alec and Biggs. "You were into her. That's how you always look at girls that you're sweet on when you go out on missions, except it was worse and if you even think about looking at me like that when we return from this mission, I will take a machete and fillet you like a fish. Got it?"

"Rena, I wasn't looking at her like that and even if I was which I definitely wasn't, I haven't looked at you like that in all of the years that we've known each other. Give me a reason why I would start to look at you like that now," I said. I glanced back at Sasha. "Can you think of any reasons?"

"Good point," Rena admitted. She followed my gaze and turned back to me, though her eyes looked a little sad. "Kenny, after…never mind." She shrugged. "We should finish prepping. Big brother will probably give us the go-ahead soon." She turned and walked away. I tried to think of what Rena had been going to say to me, but I pushed the thought out of my mind and went back to my own preparations.

* * *

**Krit (X5-157)**

I'd just finished checking all of my gear when I heard a whistle. I turned and saw Zack and Alec standing next to each other near the edge of our camp. Zack was gesturing to us. I stiffened and turned around and nodded a quick good-bye to Maggie, Layla, and 400 before the rest of us filed out of the camp and went deeper into the forest. We moved quietly and quickly until we reached an area several yards away from the perimeter of the enemy base. Zack and Alec gestured for us to hold position and we once again looked around and listened for any sign of the enemy. When none of us found anything, Zack and Alec turned to the comm. and surveillance team and nodded and Parker, Karen, Felicia, and 263 brought out their gear and quickly hacked back into their security cameras.

Parker bit his lip. "I'm counting twenty-six of them spread out through the building. I'm guessing one of them is outside somewhere on sentry duty. More of them appear to be gathered closer to 941's location. Not that it's going to be easy for 452 to reach 111, but this is going to be tricky for 405 to pull it off."

"Sir, should another soldier go in with 405?" I asked.

Zack took a look at the footage on the laptop screens and then he shook his head. "No, 405 will still go in on her own. The enemies' placement will make it almost impossible for more than one person to be able to slip by undetected before they could reach 941."

"Okay, everybody, final instructions," Alec said. "Our snipers move into position first. After the pairs of 405 and 941 and 452 and 111 have informed the rest of us that they've picked up their pursuits, then and only then will the explosives team moves into position. As for the ambush groups, we'll move into the building and into our positions when our comm. and surveillance team gives us the green light. Once they have given us the okay, we observe comm. silence until 941 and 111 have been retrieved. Any last minute questions?" I didn't have any and nobody else did, either. "Good. Let's move out."

* * *

**Rena (X5-120)**

We all moved up as one and inched closer to the base and closer to where I had planned to position myself when Becky, who was up at the front with Zack, Max, and Alec, suddenly gestured for us to hold. A moment or two later, most of us also caught what she had heard. Up in the very tree that I had planned on using was one of the enemy soldiers. We crouched down and stayed absolutely still. Zack made a gesture to Becky and she took out one of her handguns and attached a silencer to it and sighted in carefully and paused to make sure that the soldier didn't hear her. When it appeared that he didn't, she fired. We heard a grunt and then a thump as the injured man fell to the ground. Before he hit, though, Becky had gotten up and blurred to him and when he tried to swing at her with his left arm, she took him down and pinned him, holding him in a choke hold to cut off his oxygen supply so that he wouldn't be able to get free. We came up to them and Zack took out two pairs of cuffs and cuffed his wrists behind his back and then his ankles.

"Let me go, you fucking bitch," he swore.

Becky just coolly looked back into his eyes. "I don't think so, soldier." A moment or two later, Wayne walked up next to the prisoner and set down his rifle and took off his backpack and opened it. He removed a case from it and opened that and took out a vial and a fresh syringe, which he removed from its wrapping. He filled the syringe with the medication in the vial and rolled up one of the sleeves of the prisoner and injected it directly into a vein in the enemy's arm. A few moments later, the soldier passed out and Becky let go of him. Alec made a few gestures and Wayne and 786 picked up the prisoner and headed back in the direction of our camp. When they'd returned a short time later, he started to signal to us to move forward again, but stopped when a voice came from the speaker of the enemy's walkie-talkie, which he had dropped when he'd been shot.

"A14, this is A1. Report in," a voice said in Polish. I calmly went up to the walkie-talkie and picked it up.

"A1, this is A14. All clear, sir," I said in the same language, imitating the soldier's voice perfectly. I always was good at mimicry.

"I copy. Continue on your patrol. A1 out."

"A14 out," I replied. I shoved the walkie-talkie into my pants pocket and unstrapped my sniper rifle case from my back and opened it and quickly put the weapon together. I slung the rifle's strap over my shoulder and I climbed up the tree. I signaled to the others that I was in position and ready to go and I took a deep breath. Good luck, everybody.

* * *

**Brin (X5-734)**

I rubbed my hands together as we approached the perimeter fence that surrounded the enemy base and stopped. I was really feeling the butterflies in my stomach. It was now or never time. I glanced next to me to Syl, who was going to be in the same ambush group as I was. "What do you think? Looks much worse than our facility, doesn't it?"

"It makes our home look like Palm Beach," Syl agreed. "Those other two buildings don't look inviting, to say the least." She and I zoomed in on the two destroyed buildings. "I think that one over there was a medical center. The other one looks like it used to be an armory." We paused when we heard two clicks over our comm. units and a moment later, three clicks. Sasha and Kevin were in position. That was the cue for Becky and Max to get ready to go.

I walked over to Max and gave her a hug, ignoring the disgusted or annoyed looks of some of the members of Alec's unit. "Good luck in there."

"You too," Max said.

I turned to Becky and wished her good luck as well. "Kick some ass. Don't leave too many dead."

"I'll make sure that you'll be able to have fun," Becky deadpanned. She smiled a little and went over to Zack. They just stood there looking at each other but unable to say anything. Finally, they gave each other a quick hug and Becky took a deep breath and jumped over the perimeter fence and headed towards the building.

Max gave a few last hugs to Jondy, Krit, and Tinga before she walked up to Zack. "I'll see you later. Good luck." Once again, Zack couldn't seem to find his voice, but he nodded and pulled Max into a hug. They separated and Max also went over the perimeter fence and headed towards a different section of the building than Becky did.

"What was that shit?" 908 said, wrinkling her nose.

"It's called building morale among your teammates," Alec said. "You know, try to psyche them up so that they're in a better frame of mind to complete the mission and to strengthen the bond between them so they work better as a team. The trainers said that it can be done in many ways."

Zack shot Alec a grateful look. "Thanks, Alec," he said quietly.

"No problem," Alec said. "Anytime."

"494, 599, this is 263. Ambush Groups A and B are cleared for entry," 263 said.

"We copy," Alec said. He made several hand signals and we moved into our groups. I got behind Alec and his group and we cleared the fence and headed towards the east side of the building, the area that Max had moved towards. Here goes nothing.

* * *

**Becky (X6-405)**

I approached the west side of the building and immediately began looking for the air vent that I had planned to make my entry from. I spotted it and took out a few tools from my backpack and got to work. I had the cover off in only a few second and I put my tools away and I climbed inside. Thank goodness that the vent was wide. I quickly crawled through the vent until I had gotten as far as I could before the vent narrowed. I paused at the cover and listened for any signs of people. When I didn't hear anybody close enough to possibly catch me, I brought the tools out again and opened up the cover and then I slipped through and into an office. I replaced the cover, put the tools away, and I started to move out of the office, but I stopped suddenly and blurred into a closet when I heard voices. I held my breath as I heard the door open and I almost let it out again when I realized that it was merely two doctors.

"There it is. I almost forgot it," a male voice said in Polish.

"If your head wasn't attached to your neck, it wouldn't make much of a difference," the other doctor, a woman, said. "My goodness. Speaking of the report, what did you get out of the genetic code of that Manticore soldier that we tested?"

"His genetic code wasn't too different from our soldiers," the male doctor replied. "The thing wasn't quite as strong or as fast as our people and it only lasted a day after we tested him."

"Only a day? What did you do?"

"We took blood samples, we took tissue samples of various types, we tested its ability to handle pain, just like we were ordered to do," the male doctor said. "It had a remarkable ability to handle pain. It didn't even scream until we pulled off the fingers of his left hand." I put a hand to my mouth to stop myself from screaming in anger. They fucking pulled 520's fingers right off of his hand just to see how much pain he could take? For crying out loud, the worst that they would do back at Manticore was to break them or clamp them at pressure points. At least they wouldn't yank them off!

"Did it bleed to death from that wound?" the female doctor asked.

"No, it died when we—" The doctor stopped when his beeper went off. "It looks like they need this report soon. Let's go." They left the room.

I waited for a few moments, trying to calm myself down. When they were safely out of earshot and when I had myself under control, I slipped back out into the room and towards the door and I opened it and went out into the hallway. I looked both ways before I crept down the hallway, confident that Parker, Felicia, Karen, and 263 were doing their jobs and fooling the cameras into not showing me on the video feed. I quickly ducked into another room when I heard more voices. These voices suddenly stopped right when I had ducked into the room and I had to force my heartbeat to remain steady. Shit, these were some of the enemy soldiers.

"Did you hear anything, A2?" one of them said.

"Yeah, I thought I heard something," A2 said. "A2 to Control, please scan the cameras. A9 and I heard movement in the west section, floor 1." I closed my eyes as the seconds went by agonizingly slow. Don't let me down, please…

"A2, this is Control. Nothing unusual on the cameras."

"I copy, sir. A2 out." There was the soft click of a comm. unit being turned off. "There's nothing on the cameras. Let's wait here and see if we hear it again. If we do, we'll check it out."

"Yes, sir," A9 replied. I very slowly and quietly let my breath out and drew in another one and held it for almost five minutes. Finally, just as I was about to lose my breath, I heard the soldiers walk away. I quietly breathed in and out until they were out of range and then I moved on. This was not going to be easy.

* * *

**X6-941**

I counted the cracks in the ceiling of my cell. Yep, there were as many of them now as there were yesterday when I counted them. I sighed to myself and turned on my side so that I was starting at the door instead of the ceiling.

I was still having trouble grasping the fact that I had lost so many of my teammates. Seeing so many of them go down right before my eyes…I was their leader, their commanding officer. I should have been able to protect and save them. Calm down, 941. You know that it was a well-planned ambush. They got you in a good spot and it worked for them. Yeah, and thanks to them, I'd lost 252, 437, 811, 646, 583, 520, 217, 419, 155, 343, and 761. It was so nice of them to tell me that they had killed 520 after doing Manticore-knows-what kind of experiments on him. The armed soldiers with tasers was also a nice touch.

I felt tears in my eyes and I wiped them away quickly. As much as it was hurting, I would not give these people the satisfaction of seeing me in pain. If they wanted to see a weak person that they could do what they wanted with, then they were not going to get that. Not in a million years.

What the heck was that? I sat up when I heard faint noises coming from the hallway outside of my cell. Somebody was coming, but the sound didn't match the usual noises of these soldiers or others passing by the cell. I could barely hear these sounds. It was if the person was trying to be…I suddenly stood up and stretched. It was time to get ready to go.

The sounds stopped at the door and then I heard the lock being picked and a moment later, the door opened and my eyes went wide. Standing in the door was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen before, and there were some really pretty ones back home in Seattle. She looked like an angel, one that wore forest camouflage and carried enough weapons to take down half a small town.

I quickly snapped out of it when she turned around and showed me her barcode. She handed me the extra weapons that she had been carrying and after I'd secured everything, she gave me an earpiece, which I put in immediately. She quickly began to give me signals. _312, 334, and 728 are fine. 312 and 334 are in the building and 728 is back at our camp. Follow my lead. We're going to be leading these guys into a trap._ I nodded and she put a hand to her earpiece. "405. Package wrapped." She waved me forward and we moved out of the cell and she led me down the hallway. A few moments later, as we turned the corner and started to go down another short hall, our earpieces came online.

"405, 941, watch it. You have incoming. I repeat, you have incoming," a voice said.

"We copy," I said. I listened and sure enough, I could hear unfriendlies approaching us from both sides. "They're coming around the corners."

405 nodded and glanced up at the ceiling beams and a moment later she reached for the holsters on her hips and drew two handguns and fired upwards at the beams and we heard two grunts as two enemies, one on either side, went down. Before they could hit the floor, I turned around and raised my M16 and fired, taking down a third enemy. 405 raised a hand to her earpiece. "Three down."

"Copy, you've got another twelve incoming. Hurry," the same voice said.

"I copy, 367," 405 said. She and I raced on.

* * *

**Max (X5-452)**

I sighed in relief when I heard Becky's voice report that she and 941 had taken down three of the enemies. Good for them. I smiled when I reached 111's cell a few moments later. I looked both ways down the hall to make sure that nobody was coming and I took off my backpack and reached inside for my lock picking tools. I smiled when I got it done in a few seconds and I opened the cell door. I quickly showed the poor kid my barcode when he looked at me suspiciously and I signaled to him that everybody was here and the plan. I gave him the extra weapons and the extra earpiece that I'd been carrying and we started to leave. "452. Package wrapped." I motioned to 111 and we left his cell and headed in the direction of Alec's ambush group. We managed to get pretty close before we picked up our tails.

"They're incoming, 452. Watch yourselves," Parker warned us.

"How many?" I asked.

"Eleven," he replied.

"I copy," I said. I could hear them coming up behind me. I gestured to 111 and I reached into one of my pockets and I took out the grenade that Zane had given to me back at the camp before we'd headed out. I pulled the pin.

"Nice," 111 said.

"Hey boys, wanna play catch?" I sang. I threw the grenade back down the hall and 111 and I put on as much speed as 111 could. A moment later, we heard an explosion and a few less pairs of feet running after us. "Five down, one injured but still on the move." 111 and I turned another corner and I pointed to the door of one of the apparently empty rooms. I ran all the way to the end of the hallway and skidded to a stop at the dead end and turned around as the remaining soldiers followed me.

The one in the lead smiled evilly. Who did he think he was, some villain from an old James Bond movie? "You're out of room, soldier." Cue the cavalry! The doors popped open and the place turned into a shooting gallery and the six soldiers fell to the floor, dead.

I smirked. "Ooops."

"You sure do like to play dirty, 452," Alec remarked as he and the others in the group stepped out into the hallway.

"I know. It's fun," I said.

"Apparently," Alec agreed. He put a hand to his earpiece. "This is 494. Group B's assignment is complete." A few moments later, I heard Zack's voice through my earpiece and I sighed in relief. Thank goodness.

"This is 599. Group A's assignment complete. Explosives Group, what is your status?"

"This is 205. We're almost set."

"I copy," Zack said. "Any unfriendlies left in the building?"

"Only groups of ordinaries, sir," Felicia reported. "All enemy transgenics in the building are K.I.A."

"I copy. 205, do you need any additional assistance?" Alec asked.

"No, sir," Zane replied. "Approximate time to completion, five minutes."

"Copy. Groups A and B, rendezvous back at the communications team. 599 out."

"Group B on their way. 494 out." Alec turned off his earpiece and gestured to us and we made our way out of the building. We jumped over the perimeter fence and made our way back to Parker, Karen, Felicia, and 263. When they got there, Ralph, who'd been a part of Alec's group, squealed and gave 111 a big hug.

"Thank goodness that you're still alive!" she said. "I thought that I'd never see you again."

"Me too," 111 said. They turned around when they saw and heard Zack's group approaching and as soon as they were close enough, Ralph and 111 blurred over to 941. I couldn't help grinning as I watched them. Zack came over to me as we watch the three of them plus Wes hugging and laughing.

"That's good to see," he said.

I nodded. "And wait until 941 and 111 meet back up with Layla at the camp." I looked Zack over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Maxie," he assured me. "What about you? Are you injured at all?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I'm good. I'm really glad that you're okay. That could have gotten worse faster than a penny off of the old High Place, you know?"

"Yeah, it could have," Zack said. We stood there silently until we heard Zane and his team approaching. Zane was grinning like a nutcase. Oh, boy. This was going to be a big one.

"Let's get to safe distance," he said. Parker, Karen, Felicia, and 263 quickly packed up their equipment and we got out of there and headed towards our camp. About halfway there, Zane gestured for us to stop and we all took out protective ear wear and put it on. Zane's grin grew even wider. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, feast your eyes on this work of art!" He took out a remote and pressed the button on it and even with the protective ear wear, we heard an explosion and I couldn't hide my surprise at the fireball that we saw erupt from where the building had once stood. Wow. Zane really had out done himself this time.

Kenny looked impressed. "Wow, bro," he said after we'd taken off the ear wear. "I think that might have been your finest work yet. Well done."

"Thank you," Zane said. "It was a team effort this time, but I'm glad that you appreciate the results."

Zack shook his head, but I could see that he was smiling just the tiniest bit. "Come on. Let's get back to camp." He waved us forward and we continued on. I couldn't help smiling. They'd gotten what they'd deserved in a big way. Don't mess with this family.

TBC

More notes: Thank you so much to angelofdarkness78, CrimsonReality, and Jade Hunter for their reviews and support! aod78, I'd written this chapter before you submitted your review, sorry. It's not a bad idea, though. I might use it in some form later. :) Please also check out my website, it has this fic plus others that I haven't posted here on ff. net. Thank you all so much again!


	24. Chapter 24: Biggs X5 511

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 24: Biggs (X5-511)**

I was happy to hear when Alec and Zack had checked back in with Colonel Lydecker that we didn't have to return right away and that we were going to return on our scheduled departure date of two days from now. It's always nice to have some down time and go do some...normal things. It's good to relax once in awhile. I don't think they quite get that concept back at home. Yeah, we do have a few rec rooms back at the old place, but our rec time is only an hour or two at night. It's not that I don't believe in hard work, far from it. It's just that how do they expect us to keep going at that kind of a pace without burning ourselves out?

I'd just taken a shower and had finished getting dressed when Alec came back into the room. "Hey, buddy. What took you so long?"

"908 decided to pick yet another fight with Sasha," he replied. "I got the two of them to cool it down before it could get out of hand. What are you up to?"

"I don't know," I said. "I was thinking of grabbing some lunch. You wanna come with me?"

"Definitely, I'm starving," Alec said. "Just let me clean up and I'll be right with you."

"Gotcha," I said. I turned on the TV and watched it while Alec showered and changed. He didn't take too long, though, and we were leaving the room not even twenty minutes later. There was a pretty decent diner-type place just down the block from the hotel so we went in there. When we entered, we saw a few of the people in Alec's twin's unit sitting over at a large table and we made our way over to them. "Mind if we sit here?"

"No, go ahead," Zane said. "Pull up some chairs. We haven't ordered yet."

"Thanks," Alec said. We grabbed some chairs from a nearby table and pulled them up to where the others were sitting and sat down. We grabbed menus and looked them over. A waitress came by a few moments later and we gave her our orders. "Where's the rest of the gang?"

"The kids are back at the hotel," Zack said. "Wes, Ralph, and Layla are catching up with 941 and 111. I'm not sure what the rest of them are doing. Kenny, Rena, Krit, Syl, Wayne, Parker, Jace, Brin, Elle, and Eva are going for a swim in the hotel pool. What about the rest of your people?"

"Sasha wanted to go for a swim also," Alec said. "I don't know about the rest of them." He shook his head. "I know, it's kind of sad that I don't keep track of my unit the way that you have. But we've never been as close as you guys with the exception of Biggs, Sasha, and myself. I don't know what it is, but we never were a family like you and it got worse after '09 when that unit from your facility tried to escape. Most of us aren't the most mentally stable bananas in the bunch to begin with and with all the tension and other shit that was in the air, it really pushed it, especially with 908. She's the oldest in our unit and she held onto C.O. until a year after she got out of Psy Ops. Since then, she in particular has been a mess." He shrugged.

"Sounds like a blast," Reese said dryly.

"It's a barrel of laughs," I agreed in the same tone of voice. I lightened it up a bit. "Speaking of blasts, Zane, that was some blast that you, Matt, Suzanne, 237, and 665 made this morning."

"Oh God, don't get him started on anything that has to do with explosives or mechanics," Max said, groaning. "He's so gung-ho about it that it drives me crazy."

"I'm not that bad," Zane said. "I just happen to like fixing vehicles and blowing shit up. Is that a crime?"

"Children, behave," Tinga said.

"Yes, Mommy," Max and Zane said in unison, but they dropped their argument.

"Nice," I said. "They still listen to you even though one of them outranks you?"

"I'm still their big sister," Tinga said, laughing.

"How old are you?" I asked. "When were you born?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "Biggs, you moron. If there's one thing that I've learned it's never to ask a woman her age."

"Yeah," Ben agreed. "I made that mistake on my off hours on a mission a few years ago and I had to let her slap the crap out of me."

"It's okay, I know that you didn't mean any offense," Tinga said, smiling. "I was born sometime in December of 1995. I don't know the exact date. I'm twenty-two years old. What about you?"

"Twenty-one, maybe," I said. "I mean, I was born in March of 1997. I've most likely had my birthday by now, but I don't have a clue."

"Won't be the first time," Alec remarked.

"That stings," I said. I rolled my eyes.

"It does, huh?" Alec said. He smirked. "Good, that means that I've done my job."

"And I thought that you two actually got along," Tinga said.

I smiled. "Don't worry, we do."

"This is how I am with Krit and Wayne," Zane pointed out.

The waitress came back with our food, so we were quiet for a few minutes while we were eating. "So, what is it like over at your own facility?" Jack asked. "I mean, Wes and Ralph and Layla have told us a little about it. What about the trainers? Are they different or worse than the people over in Gillette? What about the director of your place?"

"Wow, you're more full of questions than Sandy usually is today," Jondy teased.

"Hey, I am part cat and cat's are curious animals," Jack said.

"The trainers are pretty much just like they seem to be in your home," Alec said. "Now, the director..." He whistled. "She is a piece of work."

"Good or bad?" Gale asked.

"Bad," I said. "Well, that's the feeling that we're getting from her. Her name's Renfro. She uses the title Director with us though I know that she has a rank within the army, I believe its Lt. Colonel, but Director is the title that she prefers. She hasn't to this point acted any better or worse that the guy that she replaced right after New Years of 2010, but I just have the feeling that beneath the shitty makeup and the unnaturally blond hair and the designer suits..." I grinned when I saw Tinga giggle at my description of Renfro. It's true, though. "...is a psychotic bitch who can even give 908 a run for her money and possibly even beat her in that department. Trust me. It's one of those things that you can just tell."

"She sounds charming," Max remarked.

"Oh, you'd be crazy about her," Alec said sarcastically.

"If she loves Lydecker, then I'd say there's a good chance of it," Ben said in the same tone of voice. I had to shake my head as I laughed. They've only known each other for a few days and they're already doing these weird twin things every so often. Man, I wished that they were both in my unit. It'd be hilarious, not to mention that it would drive everybody else even more insane than they already are.

"Ben, please stop it," Zack said.

"Stop what?" Ben asked innocently. Oh yeah, this guy is definitely Alec's twin.

"Being you," Max said sweetly. "Please?"

"It sucks to be you. No offense," Alec said. "I don't have anybody lording over my head to tell me to stop being me." He smirked.

Ben smiled and flipped Alec off. "None taken."

"The beginnings of sibling rivalry. It's such a beautiful thing," I said.

"Boys will be boys," Tinga agreed.

"God bless that Y chromosome of ours," I concurred. I took a sip of my juice and turned to look at her again. "So, Tinga, what's your favorite subject back home?"

"Good question," Tinga said. "I've always loved learning the supplemental mission skills such as cooking and dancing and things like that. I also enjoy hand-to-hand combat, but I think my favorite class is probably infiltration. I love knowing that I could be a part of so many different things if I wanted to be, you know?"

"I hear ya," I said. "I also love hand-to-hand, but one thing that I really loved doing was learning how to operate aircraft. The first time that I actually got up in the air for real and not in a simulator---"

"---was the biggest rush ever," Zane finished.

"It's just you up thousands of feet in the air and the only thing between you and splatsville on the ground or in the water is that piece of machinery," Reese agreed.

"I guess it's confirmed," Max said. "It's definitely a guy thing."

"Au contraire, I know plenty of women back in Seattle who also claimed that learning to pilot and actually piloting aircraft was their favorite," Alec said.

"One thing I also don't mind doing is re-assembling complicated weapons," Tinga said. "It's like a puzzle. I love puzzles."

"So do I," I agreed. "It keeps the ol' mind sharp." I smiled at her again and she smiled back. I suddenly felt a little nervous.

"You couldn't be any more obvious if you went right out and said 'I love you,'" Alec said.

"Huh?"

"You were making puppy-dog eyes at Tinga," Jack clarified.

"I was not," I said.

"You were. Trust me, dude," Zane said. He grinned. "But don't feel too bad about it. Tinga was giving you the same look right back at you."

"Hey!" Tinga said. She blushed, which made me smile a little.

"See? She blushed and he smiled. He's got a crush," Alec said. "Trust me. I know Biggs like the back of my hand."

"Then you should really know me pretty well, considering---"

"Speaking of possible crushes," Jondy said, cutting me off. "Rena told me before she headed off to the pool that she saw Sasha and Kenny almost flirting with each other too when we were getting ourselves set up at our camp in the woods."

"That's interesting," Alec said. "Sasha's not a big flirt at all."

"Neither is Kenny," Zane said. "I mean, he has flirted with other girls occasionally before, but he's not what I would define a man-whore."

"He's been quiet, hasn't he?" I said, pointing to Zack.

"It's how he is," Tinga assured me.

"Yep, the strong and silent type," Max said. I saw Ben start to talk, and I knew that look, but Max caught him out of the corner of her eye and glared. "Ben, if you were going to make some kind of smart remark about Zack, save it."

Ben looked surprised. "I wasn't going to make a smart remark about Zack," he said honestly.

"Yeah, sure..." Max said slowly. She didn't look entirely convinced, but she decided to let it go.

We finished eating and paid for the food and went back outside. "So, what's next on our agenda, fearless leader?" Zane asked Zack.

Zack shrugged. "We're free until we have to leave in two days. It's up to you as long as it's within reason."

"In other words, you're screwed," Max said. That got a laugh out of most of us.

"I think I'll join the others at the pool," Alec said. "You in, Biggs?"

"Of course," I said. "What do you think, Tinga?"

"That doesn't sound too bad at all," Tinga said. She grinned mischievously. "Let's see if they're all behaving themselves over there." We laughed and headed back towards the hotel.

TBC

Notes: Thank you so much to sirena1, angelofdarkness78, and CrimsonReality for their reviews and support!


	25. Chapter 25: Sasha X5 121

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 25: Sasha (X5-121)**

I stepped out of the locker room and put my towel down and jumped in the water. I'm lucky enough to spend a full hour making sure that I don't forget how to do something that I've been told that I'd learned to do when I was a year old. It's not that I mind swimming that much—when the occasion dictates that it's necessary, that is. But I guess that it is necessary now. Gotta love this feline DNA, huh?

"Are you going to do laps or are you going to just float all afternoon?" a male voice said teasingly. I turned my head and grinned when I saw Kenny standing on the side of the pool.

"I don't know, I haven't decided yet," I said.

"Need help?" Kenny said.

"987! Your schedule says an hour in the aquatic center, not talking to girls," the trainer nearby snapped.

"Sorry, ma'am," Kenny apologized. He jumped into the water next to me and we began to swim laps alongside each other. "Lucky you, you'll be away from her tomorrow morning."

I nodded and tried to ignore the weird feeling in my stomach. "Yeah, but they're a dime a dozen. There's plenty of trainers just like that old hag in Seattle." I concentrated on my laps for a few moments. "The trainer that I probably like the least, though, is this one nimrod Johnson. He's so damn sadistic that it's scary. I think he's at the bottom of everybody's list."

"Except for 786's list?" Kenny asked.

If there weren't trainers around, I would have laughed. "You read my mind. No, I'm pretty sure that he's her least favorite trainer as well. That's one of the few good things about 786. She is perfectly capable of making sure her sleeping around doesn't interfere with her day-to-day activities."

"I'm almost glad that I'm back to my normal day-to-day activities," Kenny remarked. We finished another lap and paused at the end of the pool to catch our breath. "Don't get me wrong, I really am happy that we managed to get at least 941 and 111 away from those bastards relatively unscathed and we took those jerks out, but…"

I gave Kenny a smile. I knew what he'd meant. "Sometimes, you have to grit your teeth and hang on and hope for the best. That's how I usually get through a day back at my _lovely _home." I shrugged. "I'm as thrilled about everything as you are. You know that. There are days occasionally still that all I have to get me through a day with my sanity still intact are Alec and Biggs. They've been my best friends and my brothers since we were babies. And my other friends, too. I'm friends with two X5s from Unit 4 back home. I think you'd like 849 and 228. They're pretty cool."

"I know how you feel," Kenny said. "Thank goodness for my family." We pushed off from the side of the pool and began to swim more laps. "We've had good times with each other and hopefully we'll have many, many more. Did I ever tell you about the time when Wayne, Krit, and Zane tried to blindfold Zack and tie his hands behind his back when he was sleeping early one morning back in September of '08? They damn near got it and I think they would have if Krit hadn't sneezed and woken Zack up." He grinned. "Do not fret, because they made a second attempt at it a year later and they succeeded that time."

"And Zack didn't kill them?" I said incredulously.

"Well, big brother claims to be above and beyond getting revenge on somebody," Kenny said. "Though the trainer for our martial arts lesson later that day really commended Zack for being on point when he'd had to spar against those three." He smiled. "As much as I rag on Zack, I wouldn't know what to do without him. He's my brother, you know?"

"Yeah," I said. "Tell me another story. Something is telling me that you've got some great ones."

"For the beautiful lady, I'd do anything," Kenny said, dropping his voice enough to the point where it sent thrills through me from head to toe. Focus on the swimming, Sasha. Don't focus as much on that sexy voice. "I remember when I had gotten back from my first solo mission almost five years ago, my brothers minus Zack, of course, and Parker who was off on a mission himself but with Brin, decided to welcome me back in their own special way. What sucked for them, however, was the fact that I was inadvertently tipped off to them when I heard Ben and Jack talking about it from one hallway as I was passing though another on my way to my debriefing. They were going to rig something in my bunk that when activated…okay, you probably don't want all of the details but they were going to rig it up at a certain time so it would be ready for me when I would go to bed. Well, I managed to get back to the barracks after they had done the set up, disassembled it, and then re-assembled it back in Zane's bunk since it had apparently been his idea." He winced. "It sort-of backfired on me, though. Once the guards were out of earshot and after he'd gone into the showers to clean up, Zane decided to show me and the rest of us that the dye hadn't completely washed off of his ass."

My eyes widened and I had to stop swimming and I quickly put my hand over my mouth to muffle my laughter. "You're kidding me. He actually mooned you?"

"He did," Kenny said, disgusted. "He told me later that it took another couple of days before the dye completely came off." He shrugged. "Who am I kidding? I would have done the exact same thing if I'd not heard Ben and Jack in the hallway."

"You guys sound like you're too much," I said. "I shudder to think what would have happened if Alec and Biggs would have grown up with you. They get along well enough with all of you as it is."

"It's something to think about," Kenny agreed. We swam to the edge of the pool and pulled ourselves up and out of it. He and I walked over to a bench and sat down and observed the other transgenics that were swimming in the three Olympic-sized pools in the aquatic center. "Look at those X9s doing baby training swimming over there. It's almost scary. Not even two years old and they're already doing the freestyle stroke better than most average people. Something about that doesn't seem quite right." He shook his head. "It's hard to believe that was once us."

"We've grown up, haven't we?" I agreed.

Kenny turned his head and looked me up and down. "We sure have." I blushed. Damn, that voice of his! I glanced at him and found myself looking at him in a similar manner. He might be wearing one of those high-performance swimsuits that pretty much covered everything, but it was practically painted on him, so it still left very little to the imagination. I could see nearly every well-defined muscle—not too defined, but just perfect—and I could also see—

"987 and 121, are the two of you going to sit around all day or are you going to be getting back to work?" that same damn trainer yelled at us.

Kenny and I quickly got up from the bench and saluted her. "Sorry, ma'am," I apologized. We jumped back into the water and swam to one end of the pool. "How about we race each other this time? Four laps, two hundred meters."

"You're on," Kenny said. We raced each other several times for the rest of our time in the aquatic center. I actually beat him more than he did me. When we were done, we got out of the pool and got showered and changed in our respective locker rooms before we left. "Our units have got E&E next together."

"Who's on defense and who's on offense?" I asked. "I didn't get a chance to ask Alec earlier."

"You guys are running and we're catching," Kenny said. "We need to be at Yard B fifteen minutes after you guys are supposed to report there." We stopped suddenly when we heard a commotion from farther up the hall. A few moments later, two guards marched down the hall. Immediately behind them were two more guards roughly holding a handcuffed, struggling, and obviously pissed male X5 down the hall. I frowned, not at the language that the guy was using because I'd heard crap as bad from both 237 and 908 when they'd go off, but at his unfamiliarity.

"Kenny?" I asked quietly enough so that the other X5 couldn't hear me.

"311, the last of the rogues," Kenny replied just as quietly. We watched as the guards escorted the guy into the nearby office of Colonel Lydecker. Three of them went inside while one remained outside the door. Kenny made a quick motion to me and we marched up to the guard and saluted him. "What is the situation, sir?"

"Brought back the last of those idiot rogues," the guard replied. "Why?"

"I would like to report it to the squad leader, 599," Kenny replied. "He is my unit C.O. as well and I'll be seeing him shortly."

The guard nodded. "311 was caught on camera yesterday when he was robbing the mansion of one of this place's suppliers. Out the longest of any of the three rogues and this is how he gets caught. What a moron."

"The fact that he's missed nine years of training sure shows, doesn't it?" Kenny said, obviously pretending to agree with the guy. "Thank you for the update, sir. Do you require any assistance?"

"Nah, Colonel Lydecker should be able to scare the piss out of the soldier," the guard said. He nodded to Kenny and me and we saluted him and continued on our way.

"He sure was a lot more combative than when we brought 836 in," Kenny said. "Oh, she was definitely angry about being caught and taken back but she also didn't put up as much of a fight as 311 is doing. Odd."

"Go figure that one out," I said. I smiled at Kenny. "I'll pass the info onto Alec and Biggs and I guess I'll see you after E&E."

"Looking forward to it, babe," Kenny said. I blushed, but kept the smile on my face as I practically glided down the hall. There's that thrill again, but I definitely didn't mind it.

TBC

Notes: I think I mentioned this before, but I'll mention it again to be on the safe side. Even though the characters are the same in this AU as in the "Together" AU, some of the pairings for this fic will be different than in the other AU.


	26. Chapter 26: Max X5 452

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 26: Max (X5-452)**

I crawled into my bunk, lay down, and turned over onto my left side so that I was facing Jondy. "I honestly thought that vessel in Trainer Moore's forehead was going to explode when 561 decided to be a smart ass to him when we had to run the second assault course earlier tonight with Unit 4. Doesn't he know when to shut his mouth? At least with the guys here, they're funny and they know not to do it directly to a trainer's face."

"I know," Jondy said. "Not to mention that Trainer Moore has even less of a sense of humor than Lydecker." She shrugged and smiled. "561 might not have been funny, but it sure was a gas to see Trainer Moore on the warpath on his sorry butt. I mean, that trainer's so short and he got so red in the face when 561 pissed him off that it looked like a fire hydrant spouting off obscenities one after the other."

I laughed. Jondy hit the nail right on the head. "I've got to give the trainer points for the most creative use of obscenities by a non-transgenic. I don't think anybody can top Zack, Becky, or Rena when they hit full blown critical mass. Zack and Becky especially because it's that much more of an impact because they're usually pretty in control."

"Lights out any second now," Zack reminded us.

"We know," I said. We lay back in our bunks and sure enough, the lights went out a few moments later. Once the guard has done his walk down our hall, I was sitting right back up. "When will they learn that lights out is next to useless for people that can see in the dark? Dumbasses."

"Let's see, when you consider how stupid the brass is and maybe the fact that the sevens aren't that much smarter, oh and how smart us and the sixes are but how dumb I've heard some of the threes can be at least according to that one that I'd ran into in the hall the other day that was complaining about some of her unit mates…" Ben teased.

"My goodness, I didn't realize that it was that complicated of a process," Jondy said in mock shock. "You truly have enlightened me."

"That's our Ben for you," Eva agreed. She sat up in her own bunk and reached underneath the collar of her t-shirt to scratch near her barcode. "Do you think that it would kill Manticore to get us shirts that don't have labels that itch like mad?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask them?" Reese said. "'Excuse me, Colonel Lydecker, but I would like to request some t-shirts that do not have itchy labels attached. Is that possible, sir?'"

"How about you go get a pass out of here so you can go up to Interstate 90 and play in traffic?" Eva said.

"Creative," Reese said. "That was about as funny as when Elle used that line on Zane two weeks ago."

"Yeah, it—hey!" Elle said. She flipped Reese off. "Two things, you moron. Number one: whether my words were funny or not is irrelevant because I wasn't intending for them to be funny. Number two: do you have to be such a jerk all of the time?"

"Somebody's bitchy," Reese said. He looked at Elle appreciatively. "But—" He stopped suddenly. "Oh, shit."

My eyes widened. The only time that Elle got that bitchy was right as she was starting to go into heat. If she didn't get her ass into isolation within the next hour, things were going to go to hell in a hand basket quicker than anybody could blink. "Tinga? Could you do everybody a favor and get Elle over to isolation?"

"Consider it done, baby sister," Tinga agreed immediately. She quickly stepped back into her cammo pants and after putting on her boots and throwing a sweatshirt on over her t-shirt, grabbed Elle by the arm and led her over to the barracks' door. "Let's go, Elle."

"Good call, Max," Zack said once Tinga and Elle were safely down the hall. We all looked towards the door when we heard three sets of footsteps approach. There was a soft knock a moment later. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Alec said as he, Biggs, and Sasha entered our barracks. "This going to be an adults-only party?"

"Yeah," Ben said. He got out of his bunk and walked over to the others to exchange handshakes with them. "The kids aren't stopping by."

"Ben, for crying out loud," Syl complained. "Some of us do _not_ want to see you wearing only your boxers."

"Why not?" Ben said. He grinned wolfishly and I shook my head. "Would you prefer me in my birthday suit?" He reached for the waistband of his boxers and I was out of my bunk and yanking his hand away a moment later.

"Grow up," I said.

"Hey, it's not like I'm the only guy here who's sleeping without a t-shirt on tonight," Ben pointed out. Before I could really react, he shoved me towards Zack's bunk. I managed not to crash into it, but stumbled onto Zack instead.

"Thanks a lot, Ben," I said. I pulled myself up into a sitting position. "I can never make up my mind whether you're twenty-one or two, but I think you just helped make the decision for me. I really do owe you one."

Jondy snickered. "I think you might owe him for more than that, Max."

I put my hands on my hips. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"In case you haven't noticed, baby sister, you're sitting right on Zack's lap," Brin said. "You know, one of the guys that are also sleeping in only their boxers."

I turned to look at Zack, who was starting to look slightly flushed and uncomfortable. I let my eyes drift downwards. Yeah, he wasn't wearing a shirt. Good thing, too. He's got such a nice, well-defined… I suddenly jumped off of Zack's lap and tried to ignore the others while they laughed. What the hell just happened? I'd never thought of Zack like that before…at least not that I was aware of.

"Should we be leaving the two of you alone?" Krit teased.

"Shut up," I said. My youngest brother could be such an idiot sometimes. I smiled. Good thing that I usually had ammunition to throw right back at him. "Maybe I should be asking you that question, Krit. Remember a few weeks ago when we were running that training mission in the woods and you slipped on that icy log and fell right on top of Syl and the two of you didn't make any moves to get off of each other for about thirty seconds?" That got whistles and catcalls from everybody else except for Zack. Krit and Syl both blushed.

"That was completely different, Max," Krit insisted. "We took our time getting back up because we'd both had the wind knocked out of us when I fell on top of her."

"Guard coming back," Zack warned us. I raced back into my bunk. Biggs raced into the guys' bathroom. Rena, Sasha, Ben, and Alec exchanged a quick look and a grin before Rena got out of her bunk and raced into the other bathroom. Ben joined Biggs in the guys' bathroom and then Alec and Sasha kicked off their boots and got into their twins' bunks just in time. The guard looked into our barracks. I held my breath out of reflex when the door opened and he poked his head inside.

"I thought I heard noise," he said suspiciously.

"Must have been one of the other units in the block," Alec said. He was holding the book that Ben had on top of his dresser. "It sounded like X5 Unit 1 across the hall."

"And what are you doing up, 493?" the guard said. "I thought that you sleep at night."

"I was having trouble getting to sleep so I thought that I'd catch up on my reading," Alec said. He held up the book. "Just some light reading on the history of light firearms."

"I see," the guard said skeptically. "Was he making any noise, 452?"

"Quiet as a mouse," I said.

The guard raised an eyebrow and looked over at Jondy. "210?"

"Not a peep from him or anybody else, sir," she assured him.

"Fine," the guard said. The disappointed dickhead closed the door and walked away.

"I hate the ones that are just looking for an excuse to get somebody into trouble," Kenny said.

"Tell me about it," Sasha said as she climbed out of Rena's bunk. Alec also got out of Ben's bunk and a moment later, Ben, Biggs, and Rena came out of the bathrooms. "Hey, where are Tinga and Elle?"

"I'm right here and I just got back from taking Elle to isolation because she was starting to go into heat," Tinga replied as she entered the barracks. "Hey, Alec, Sasha." She smiled. "Hey, Biggs."

"Hey, Tinga," Biggs said. He grinned at her and Jondy and I exchanged a knowing look. Boy, did he have it bad for our oldest sister. "Great to see you again."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "You only just saw her this afternoon at our Escape and Evade debriefing and then earlier tonight in the cafeteria at dinner, numbnuts."

"I know," Biggs said. He looked slightly flustered and Jondy, Rena, and I had to work really hard to stifle our giggles. "Oh, that reminds me. I ran into the kid—I mean 941—on our way back to the guest barracks from our last activity and he told me that he, 111, Becky, and Kevin got called into Lydecker's office during their last class. They've made the decision to transfer him and 111 to Becky's unit as well. They've even made 941 Becky's new 2IC."

"Way to go," Jace said. "I'm happy that they're keeping them all together. Is 941 okay with being bumped down to a second-in-command?"

"Yeah, he's cool with it," Biggs said. "He knows how good Becky is and he says there's no honor lost in being under her command." He grinned again. "Personally, I think the kid's got a major crush on her."

"That's sweet," Gale said.

"He better not try anything," Zack growled.

"Don't mind him," I said. "He's just protective over all of us, myself and Becky in particular."

"No offense taken or harm done," Biggs said. "You don't have to worry about 941 hurting Becky or anything along those lines. For somebody his age, the kid's about as much of a class act as you can get."

"Not to mention smart," Alec added. "He knows how outnumbered he'll be if he crosses the line." He stretched. "Speaking of crossing the line, I'd like to apologize for 908's comments after escape and evade. Now _that_ I feel like I have to apologize for. That was nasty even for 908."

I shook my head. "It's cool. I know that the bitch has got more than one screw loose up there."

"To say the least," Sasha said. "I don't know why exactly she seems to want to tear everybody down."

Rena shrugged. "Maybe she subconsciously wants them to inflict grievous bodily harm on her." She grinned wickedly and I shifted uneasily. I knew that look too well. "Speaking of bodies, Max, you seemed to be getting quite an eyeful of Zack's upper body when you fell onto his lap. Like what you saw there, little sister?"

"Grow up, Rena," I said.

"Lay off of her, Rena," Ben agreed. I gave him a grateful look and he smiled back at me before he returned his attention to Rena. "If you want to talk about bodies and ogling, I must say that I could have sworn that you were admiring the view when I greeted our visitors from Seattle just a few minutes ago." He shrugged. "Not that I can blame you. God knows how many hours I put in working out so I must have something to show for it."

"Yeah," Alec agreed. "You want it in stereo?" He started to reach for his t-shirt before Sasha bailed her twin out by smacking Ben's twin across the back of his head. I laughed. I liked that girl.

"No thank you," Sasha said. "I have no interest in seeing your body."

"Whose body would you rather see?" Alec said. He followed the direction that Sasha's eyes had drifted in. "Oh, Kenny's?"

"None of your business," Sasha said. I couldn't help raising an eyebrow skeptically and looking over at Alec, who gave me a knowing look. Yeah, he definitely knows Sasha as well as we know Rena and those two are definitely alike.

"I guess," Alec said. "Besides, I can see right through you like you were made of Saran Wrap anyway." Sasha rolled her eyes, but she kept quiet.

"That's weird," Rena said. "I never thought of Kenny like that."

"Hey!" Sasha said. "We have pretty much exactly the same DNA. I thought that you were supposed to be on my side by default."

"Sorry," Rena said.

"You guys need to be quiet," Zack reminded them. "That guard's going to have a field day if he comes back and sees that it was us after all that was making the noise before."

"Is he always this bad?" Sasha asked.

"Not always, but usually," Jondy said. She turned to me and smiled innocently. "Max here is one of the few but usually the only one that can definitely charm big brother into loosening up on occasion."

"Zack listens to reason," I said, shrugging.

"In that case I guess Zack must _love_ reason," Jondy said under her breath, barely loud enough for me to be able to catch her. I turned to glare at her and she just smiled at me again. "Why the mean look, Maxie?"

"Why are you one of my best friends?" I said.

"What did you say to her?" Reese asked eagerly.

"Are you desperate to cause trouble tonight?" Tinga said to Reese. She rolled her eyes. "My goodness, you're not normally even this bad."

Reese grinned and pointed his thumb in Alec and Biggs' direction. "Sorry, big sis. They're a bad influence on me."

"Glad to be of service," Alec said cheerfully. That got most of the guys laughing. "Let me know if you need me for anything else."

"Isn't that nice of him to volunteer for thing like that?" Biggs said. He grinned. "When you put it that way, how about you take over for me every time I'm supposed to lead an exercise with the little X8s?" We all laughed, even Zack smiled at that one, but Biggs' grin grew when he saw and heard that Tinga was among the ones that thought what he said was funny. Ooooh, I knew that he liked her!

"No, thank you," Alec said. "Would you and Tinga like some alone time?" Biggs just stared at Alec with his jaw practically scraping the floor of the barracks. He tried to tell that smartass something, if it were me it'd be where to stick it, but he couldn't say anything.

"Even if that were the case, I am perfectly capable of handling myself," Tinga quickly said to Zack. She knows Zack almost as well as I do.

Sasha yawned. "I'm starting to feel wiped. What time is it? I left my watch back in the guest barracks."

"2325," Jack replied.

"We should be getting back to the guest barracks, then. Lydecker will be by the guest barracks by 0500 to collect us and escort us over to our transport back to Seattle and we should be up and getting ready by 0430," Alec said. He suddenly grew quiet and the rest of us did as well as it suddenly hit us that they really would be leaving to go back to Seattle.

"Well," Rena said. She sounded like she was fighting off tears. "I guess this means that we should say our good-byes now." She got up off of her bunk again and walked over to Sasha and gave her a hug. I bit my lip when I could hear both of them trying not to cry. Damn Manticore.

"Bro," Ben said quietly. He and Alec exchanged a handshake and a quick hug. Neither of them looked like they were also fighting back the waterworks.

"Good-bye, you guys," Biggs said. His looked over at Tinga and I felt so bad, especially when I saw the tears that started to appear in both of their eyes, which they quickly wiped away. Poor Sasha, she couldn't even trust herself to get the words out when she looked at Kenny. Alec and Biggs exchanged handshakes with Zack and the rest of the guys and then the three of them left. Rena and Ben quietly went back to their bunks and lay back down. I watched and listened as almost all of us drifted off to sleep before I lay down and turned to face Jondy once again.

"That sucks," Jondy said. "They really were starting to feel like they were part of our family."

"I know," I said. "Tell me about it."

TBC


	27. Chapter 27: Ben X5 493

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 27: Ben (X5-493)**

I finally reached the old High Place and sat down and looked out across the grounds. It's only been a day since Alec and his unit left to go back to their own facility in Seattle, but it felt like a million years. I know, usually when somebody refers to something along these lines it's the other way around, but when have I liked the typical? Not since I was very little, if then.

I shifted a little bit. It's just odd, you know? I almost felt the way I did when I was younger, when I was so curious about everything. Religion, how things worked, you name it. As I grew up I figured things out on my own, found at least some answers out there while on missions or learned about others in the classroom, like about religion and how the Blue Lady was actually the Virgin Mary or how it turned out that our seizures were caused by a serotonin deficiency that was cured by that procedure that we all had done years ago or even something little like why people acted a certain way sometimes. Things fell into place, at least mostly. I still don't like Manticore any more than I ever did and I still think that there's something about this place that definitely falls into the 'so wrong you don't want to touch it with a ten-foot pole' category, but as corny as it sounds at least I felt sure of myself as a person.

When Alec and his crew arrived, it was definitely very weird at first. Trust me, the sight of your own face looking back at you and not from a mirror would creep you out in a nanosecond. Afterwards, once the shock had faded, we got to know each other a little bit and he was a cool guy. We are a lot alike. We have a similar sense of humor, we like or dislike a lot of the same things, we specialize in the same areas, and we just get along with each other very well. There are some differences. I'm a little quieter than Alec and he's an even bigger smartass than I am. I'm an early riser and he told me that he likes to lie in bed for as long as possible if he could. I guess even identical twins can't be completely identical.

I always knew, logically at least, that his being in Wyoming was only temporary and once we had gotten back here from Poland and had been debriefed and everything that he would go back and it was more likely than not that we would never see each other again. I guess Lydecker and Renfro and everybody else in charge figured that we wouldn't get close like brothers are supposed to and that we would be good soldiers that would complete the mission as ordered and move on with no questions asked. Fucking morons. That's probably the thing that pisses me off the most about Manticore. Why don't they remember that soldiers are human too and that even though we're about twenty percent animal that we think and feel like regular human beings do? When I woke up this morning at 0630 as usual and I realized that Alec and his unit had left even earlier that morning, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I had this weird hollow feeling inside, the same one that I'd suddenly gotten when we'd said good-bye the night before. I might not have been a hair away from crying like Rena and Sasha had been, but I was definitely feeling it. I've just always been better at holding back on the waterworks than any of the girls and I guess Alec is the same.

I stretched and turned my head so that I could see in the somewhat distance the windows of my family's barracks. I smiled. They've been great about this whole situations, they really have. They knew how hard it had hit me. I mean, sure some of my brothers and sisters have cracked some jokes about how much of a relief it was to only have one of me around again because that was all they could stand. If they didn't make that type of a joke, then I would have worried. That kind of thing goes with the territory. But they know that I'm going through and they haven't been mean or nasty about it at all. I heard a noise behind me and I turned and grinned when I saw the person who knew best of all what I was feeling. "Hey, Rena."

"Hey, Ben," Rena said. She walked over to and sat down next to me. "I woke up and I saw that you weren't in your bunk. Max and Jondy told me that you were going to go up here." She tried to give me a smirk, though I could see how down she felt in her eyes. "Do I even have to guess why you're here at the High Place?"

"Nope. Guessing is not necessary," I said. I sighed. "I miss Alec."

"I miss Sasha," Rena agreed. "This is just so fucked up, Ben. A week or so ago, I didn't have a single clue that I had a twin or a clone. No, a twin. I just know deep down that Sasha and I are actual twins and not clones."

I nodded. "Same here. I've got that same feeling."

"Now that I know that I have a twin, spent time with her, and have gotten to know her and she's gone back to her home, I feel like part of me is missing. I would have laughed if a couple of weeks ago somebody said that something like this would happen," Rena said. "I feel almost incomplete."

"So do I," I sympathized. "It was great to have a brother like Alec. I don't love any of the others any less, but this was different to have a twin." I looked over at Rena and saw that she was about to cry and I felt my heart wrench. I put an arm around her shoulders and a smile on my face. "I think that we're lucky, though. Who knows how many of us, whether it's us in our extended family or transgenics here in Gillette in general, have a twin or a clone that's in Seattle or Syracuse that they've never met or even know exist? We not only got to find out about Alec and Sasha, but we got to meet them and get to know them, even if it was only for such a short time. That's something that I'll always be grateful for my whole life. Besides, you never know. We might get to see them again. Hell, maybe they'll need some people to infiltrate a twins convention or something."

Rena laughed a little. "Maybe."

"We'll get through this, Rena," I said quietly. "I promise. No matter what."

"I know," Rena said just as quietly. "Thank you, Ben." She shifted a little so that she could lay her head on my shoulder and I kissed the top of her head and we sat there at the High Place for hours.

TBC


	28. Chapter 28: Jeff X6 941

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 28: Jeff (X6-941)**

I had to admit, I was definitely feeling a sense of relief as we reached our barracks at the end of the day. The last few weeks have been so chaotic for me and I was really looking forward to it settling down a bit and getting back into some kind of a routine. Between going on the original mission to Poland, getting ambushed and my unit almost completely slaughtered right out from underneath me, then getting rescued several days later by Becky and everybody, finding out that I'd been transferred to her unit, and then going back to Seattle for a day to get my things before coming back here to Wyoming for good…I need a breather.

My unit is really something interesting. Definitely in a good way, though. It's interesting to be part of something so close. Brothers and sisters…I'd never really thought of that before, at least not consciously. And names! I actually have a name now. I chose the name Jeff. I like it. 111 decided to call himself Christian. Names, brothers and sisters, an extended family even with that X5 unit…it's overwhelming.

But as wonderful as my new family is, I can't forget my old one. Yesterday, my last night in my old cell back in Seattle, I had a horrible nightmare of what had happened back in Poland. I kept seeing everybody go down one after the other, even Wes, Christian, Layla, and Ralph. The laughter of those enemy transgenics as they dragged me away and the disembodied voices of my fallen unit mates as they begged for help…I consider waking up in a cold sweat a notch better than waking up in a cold sweat and screaming bloody murder. What felt the worst was how I couldn't shake it off how real it had all felt immediately afterwards, even though I knew that wasn't how things had played out. Ralph and Layla hadn't even been in the building with us, I had managed to tell Wes to get out to get Ralph, which he successfully did, and I'd been knocked out cold after Wes had gotten away and 646 had gone down. Yeah, I was kind of relieved to leave Seattle early this morning.

I showered and changed into some sleep wear and climbed into my bunk and waited patiently for lights out, but when they did I couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't that I wasn't used to sleeping in a room with a bunch of other people. I'd slept in these very barracks for those two or so days after we'd gotten back to the States instead of in the guest barracks with Alec, Biggs, Sasha, and the rest of Unit 3 and P2-400 and it's not as if I'd forgotten what it was like before they'd moved me into my own cell five years ago when I was ten. I don't know, maybe it's just moving in nerves. Don't look at me.

I lay quietly for about twenty minutes or so before I finally gave up and got back out of my bunk. I looked over and saw that everybody was asleep, even Wes and Karen. I silently got dressed and slipped out of the barracks and walked around until I found an empty classroom. I sat down in a desk and sighed and looked out of one of the windows. Man, do I need to calm down and get it together. There's no way that I'll be able to be this nervous for too long before I burn out and take a day trip to that wonderful place known as Psy Ops.

"Hey. You couldn't sleep?"

I turned my head at the soft voice that had spoken. It was Becky. She does look like an angel, even with her hair a little bit messy from lying in her bunk. I managed a smile. "I guess Karen and Kevin weren't kidding after all. You must really have radar or something."

Becky returned my smile. "No, I was cheating a little bit. Wes was only faking sleep. I mean, he was trying, but he wasn't actually sleeping. I woke up when you closed the barracks door and when I asked what was going on, Wes told me that you'd left. I thought I would follow you and make sure that you're okay."

"Thanks," I said. "That's cool of you."

"Are you okay?" Becky asked.

"I don't know," I said. "I couldn't get to sleep. I don't know if it's because of moving in kind of nerves or the nightmare that I had last night in Seattle or what."

"You had a nightmare?" Becky asked. "I'm sorry, Jeff."

"It scared the hell out of me," I said. "I don't get it. I survived those three months of Psy Ops back in '09. You'd think that would have toughened me up to the point where I could take anything and everything. Then again, I had nightmares for almost a month afterwards then."

"Hey, the fact that not only have you kept your rank but most importantly have stayed sane since X5 Unit 7 tried to cut loose from here says a lot about how tough you are," Becky said. "I remember when they had finally stopped on me way back when and they brought all of us X6 commanding officers as well as the other X5 C.O.s minus 333 into the infirmary to make sure that we were okay physically. The other X6 commanding officers at the time 193, 595, 487, 614, 097, 550, and 838 were all just completely freaked out. I mean, I won't lie. I was happy beyond happy that the ordeal was over and that the torture was done and yeah, I also had nightmares for a good while afterwards just like you did. But the other guys were so traumatized that I was surprised that some of them were able to function at all, much less get through a day of training at Manticore. I remember that 614 from Unit 5 and 550 from Unit 7 were having such a hard time dealing with it that they got sent back to Psy Ops within weeks after being released from their 'precautionary' stay."

I nodded. I could easily recall the time when I had been released from Psy Ops all those years ago. "It was worse for the X6s back in Seattle. 224 and I had held ourselves together for the most part like you did, but four of the other X6 C.O.s were as bad as you said the rest of the guys here were and 102, the commanding officer of Unit 1 at the time had to spend an additional six weeks because he was being so combative in there and I never even saw the commanding officer of Unit 6 again ever. I heard later that she'd been so traumatized by the deal that she just…" I snapped my fingers to emphasize my point. "…mentally withdrew completely and they weren't able to bring her back to herself so they ended up having her killed and her organs harvested."

Becky shuddered, partly from sympathy and part from disgust. I could read her eyes pretty well. "Jesus. I thought that they were monsters here."

"Don't feel too bad. I bet that they are," I remarked.

"The night after Wes, Ralph, and Layla had arrived here, I had a doozy of a nightmare," Becky said. "It had still only been a week at that point since Kyle had been killed on the mission that he'd gone on and I was still reeling from that. I was out in the woods somewhere, Kyle was right next to me, and I guess we were moving in towards our target when all of a sudden these two…I don't know, I guess they could have been considered monsters. They appeared to be human in shape though they were at least seven feet tall and absolutely huge. Anyway, two of them grabbed me and held me back and another two grabbed Kyle and the…the ones that had gotten me held me back and forced me to watch as the other two…well, let's just say that they did to Kyle was very much like what I later discovered those sadistic bastard enemy scientists and doctors had done to your brother 520. Then they laughed and I saw one of them take out this machete and raise it up like he was going to stab me right in my heart with it and I woke up right before the blade would have gotten me."

My eyes widened. "Holy shit."

"Yeah, that pretty much summed up how I was feeling when I woke up from that," Becky agreed. She shivered and I walked over to her and tentatively put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me and got up and hugged me. I could feel how tense she was and I'm pretty sure she could tell the same about me. Were we a mess or what?

"I'm sorry," I said.

"I feel bad for you," Becky said. She managed a smile. "But thank you for the support, Jeff. It really does mean a lot to me."

"Anytime," I said. "You are—we're in this together now." I couldn't bring myself to say the word 'sister.' It didn't feel quite right.

"We sure are," Becky said. We gave each other another small smile before we left the classroom and walked back to our barracks. We'd just gotten to our door before we heard the sound of muffled screaming and gasping and we immediately rushed inside and over to where Ralph had just woken up from a nightmare of her own. Becky pulled Ralph into a hug. "Hey, sis. It's okay. We're here."

"It…Jeff, Becky, it was so horrible," Ralph sobbed.

"Don't worry," I assured her. Becky let go of Ralph and I pulled her into a hug of my own. "It's going to be okay."

"They—they just slaughtered us," Ralph cried.

"Not all of us," I said. "Don't worry about it, Ralph. They can't do that anymore. I won't let anybody hurt you or any of us anymore if I can help it. I promise." I definitely promise, little sister.

TBC


	29. Chapter 29: Jack X5 417

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 29: Jack (X5-417)**

Escape and evade. Again. How many times have I participated in this particular exercise since the age of two? About ten million. What the heck, let's make this number ten million and one. I shouldn't be complaining about it too much, though. At least it's pretty warm for Wyoming in early April.

I closed my eyes as I patiently waited for the time when we were told to try to begin to escape from our starting positions. We were going up against a combined group of Unit 8, since about half of them were away on a mission, and Unit 7, of whom all of them minus 311 who was still in Psy Ops were present but is just a small unit to begin with. Nineteen of us against twenty-three opponents hidden somewhere in this area of the woods. This should be interesting.

I silently counted the remaining couple of second down before I began to try to free my wrists from the zip ties that were binding them. It took a good couple of minutes before I was able to get them free but once they were loose, it was pretty easy to unbind my ankles. I stood up and began to move as quietly through the forest as I could. I was usually decent enough at E&E. I would get through nearly all of the time, though usually it was by the skin of my teeth. I suddenly tensed when I heard a noise and ducked behind a bush, but once I saw that it was only Jondy, I grinned in relief.

_Hey,_ I signaled to her silently. _Where were you?_

_Just a few yards to the northeast of here,_ she replied in the same way. If we gave our positions away because we wanted to have a normal conversation, Lydecker would have our hides. _What about you?_

_Also a few yards from here, but west of your original position,_ I replied. We both scanned the area before Jondy gestured for us to continue on. We were quiet for a good couple of minutes before we ducked behind another bush. I looked over towards some nearby trees and sure enough, I could barely make out the outline of a soldier wearing forest camouflage hiding close by them. I frowned for a moment as I thought out a plan before I began to gesture it to Jondy. She considered my plan for a few moments before she nodded and we split up. Jondy whistled, mimicking a bird fairly well but just off enough to get somebody like her or me's attention. Sure enough, the X5 that was laying in wait moved completely out from behind his cover and I snuck around and cut off his oxygen supply until he passed out and I lowered him noiselessly to the ground. I motioned Jondy over. _745 from Unit 7._

_He's not going to be a happy camper when he regains consciousness,_ Jondy replied. _Okay, Jack, you know the drill._

I nodded and I stripped 745 of his weapons, frowning as I did so. One of the rules for Escape and Evade was that if we came across an enemy solider and took him or her down that we were not allowed to take his or her weapons since that would defeat the purpose of the exercise. We weren't allowed to take their comm. units either, though that was also pointless since the soldiers on defense would inform the trainers of a capture by pressing a button to send a signal directly to the trainers' own comm. device. Lucky for us, the defending soldiers were equipped with mostly the standard gear and while that was modified to include paintball guns for escape and evade, it also included zip ties and we were allowed to use those. I found the ones that 745 had on him and I bound his ankles while Jondy bound his wrists behind his back. Once 745 was secured, Jondy motioned for me to move forward. We continued to move stealthily through the forest, finally arriving at the rendezvous point unscathed. We saluted the trainer. "X5-417 reporting in, sir!"

"X5-210 reporting in, sir!" Jondy said.

"Good," the trainer said. "Did the two of you end up working together?"

"Yes, sir," I said.

"Any captured enemies?" the trainer asked.

"Yes, sir," Jondy said. "X5-745." She gave the trainer 745's location and he nodded and entered some information into the laptop that he was holding.

"Very impressive, 210 and 417. I think this might be 417's best result in Escape and Evade yet. The two of you are the second member or members of Unit 2 to check in. Only 452 has done so thus far." Naturally. "You may wait over in Yard C with 452 for the rest of your unit mates. Dismissed for now." Jondy and I saluted the trainer and marched over to Yard C. We saw Max sitting by herself over to the side and we walked over to and sat down next to her.

"Hey," she said. "You guys actually beat the others out of E&E?"

"We sure did," Jondy said. She was grinning.

"Hey, you know what the trainers and Lydecker say about me. I definitely function best as a team player," I said. It's true. I'm okay on my own, I did pass my solo ops tests and everything, but I do work best within a team. "I guess Jondy and I make for one hell of a team."

"Apparently," Max said.

"You really did great out there, Jack," Jondy said. "You were quieter than a mouse. 745 never had a clue that you were coming up behind him and neither did 667 from Unit 8 and 836 from Unit 7 when we slipped by them."

"It wasn't all me," I said. "They were all clueless to the fact that you were there as well. You rocked today too, Jondy."

"Thank you," Jondy said. She grinned and I couldn't help smiling as well. "But the most important thing of all? All three of us beat Zack this afternoon."

Max laughed. "Big deal. I beat him at Escape and Evade about ninety-nine percent of the time."

"But when have Jondy or I ever beaten Zack at anything before?" I said.

"We deserve our moment in the sun," Jondy said. "Don't we, Jack?"

"I won't lie," I said. "I'm going to enjoy this moment while it lasts because it probably isn't going to last for very long."

"Let me guess. You're celebrating the fact that you beat me in Escape and Evade?" Zack said as he approached us. He smiled as he sat down next to Max. "Good. I'm glad that you did that well, Jack. You too, Jondy."

"Thanks," I said.

"Looks like it's just the four of us so far," Max said. "Zack, did you see anybody else from our gang on your way out of the woods?"

Zack shook his head. "No. The only people I saw were the members of units 7 and 8 that I was trying to avoid. I think I spotted a total of seven enemies and I ended up having to capture three other ones. It was 952 and 349 from Unit 8 and 836 from Unit 7 that I had to tie up."

"You must have passed by the route that Jondy and I ended up taking to get out of there," I remarked. "We had to get around 836 as well. She's not going to be very happy when we're all debriefed over this." I stretched my arms out. "That's better. How did you do out there, Max? Did you have any close calls and did you have to capture anybody before you got to the rendezvous point?"

"No captures, though I almost had to make the grab on one of the members of Unit 8 when I realized how close the guy was," Max said. "Made it through, though."

"That's our Max," Zack said. I noticed that he inched a little bit closer to her and I turned to Jondy and discreetly motioned to the two of them with me eyes. Jondy's own eyes sparkled as she nodded in agreement. Zack turned his head to look at Jondy and me and he frowned. "What are you guys thinking?"

"None of your business, big brother," Jondy said sweetly. She leaned over to me and whispered in my ear just loud enough for me to catch but for Max and Zack not to be able to understand. "Even if it was, do you think that I would tell him? I value my life." I couldn't help laughing and Jondy grinned back, blushing faintly. I ignored the annoyed look on Zack's face and I leaned in so that my lips were close to Jondy's ear.

"That's good," I whispered. "So do I." Jondy looked up at me and I felt my heart beat weirdly. What the heck?

"And what is going on here, hmmm?" Max teased.

"Not a thing, sis," I said.

"Don't worry, Maxie," Jondy said. "It's all good."

"Good," Max said. She gave me and Jondy another somewhat odd look before she shrugged and turned to look in the direction of the rendezvous point to see Rena making her way over to us. Phew, saved by another sister. I watched Jondy get up and walk over to and greet Rena, again finding myself smiling as I heard Jondy's laughter, this time about a smart remark that Rena made. Something was going on, all right, and I should probably figure out what it was.

TBC


	30. Chapter 30: Brin X5 734

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

About a year later...

**Chapter 30: Brin (X5-734)**

I yawned and then groaned as those stupid bugle kids woke me up. I might not be as hard to wake up in the mornings as Krit usually is, but that does not mean that I occasionally have the urge to go up to one of the bugle boys or girls, take their trumpets, and ram them down their throats. Call me bitchy if you want, but I think that it's not a completely unreasonable thought to have sometimes first thing in the morning.

"Rise and shine," Zane said wickedly. He practically bounced out of his bunk and shoved the still sleeping Krit out of his and laughed when Krit hit the ground. "Good morning, baby bro." Krit stood up, brushed himself off, glared at Zane, and then swore at him in about twelve languages including English, which only made Zane laugh even harder. "Yeah, I love you too, Krit."

"Wow, somebody sure is bouncy first thing in the morning," Kenny remarked as he got out of his bunk.

"Lighten up, bro," Parker said. "Seriously. You've been moping for almost a year now. You still miss Sasha?"

"Hey, I miss her too," Rena said defensively.

"I know," Parker said quickly. "I didn't mean to say that it's wrong of you to still miss her even after this long."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "Try getting yourself out of this one, Parker."

"Um…I'm sorry I opened my big mouth and I think that I'm going to shut up now?" Parker said.

"There's hope for you yet," Max teased.

"Yeah," Tinga said, though she also looked a little sad. I felt bad for her, too. She and Biggs had been flirting with each other a lot before Biggs had to go back to Seattle. She shrugged. "At any rate, we should get ready quickly today. Lydecker's having that assembly this morning immediately after breakfast."

"Yeah, and it's of the 'miss-it-and-you're-toast' variety," Wayne added. He grabbed his shower things and headed towards the guys bathroom. "And he's going to be observing us when we have martial arts with the kids later today so we all know that that means, boys and girls."

"Other than Becky and Jeff wiping us from one end of the gym to the other?" Syl said dryly.

"Don't forget two-on-ones," Max reminded her. "The last time that Lydecker was watching us in that class, he made me go against Kenny and Brin at the same time." She made a face. "That was an experience I'd don't exactly want to repeat."

"What are you complaining about, Max?" Kenny said. "You beat us!"

"And sent me to the infirmary for a concussion," I added.

"And I had to go with you because I had to get those gashes on my lower lip and just under my left eye stitched up, remember?" Max said.

"Looks like it's going to be one of those mornings," Jack remarked.

"And how," Jondy agreed. "I think we all seriously need our coffee at breakfast."

"Oh, shut the fuck up," Kenny snapped. "Just because you and Jack have been making puppy dog eyes at each other for months now doesn't mean that you have any right whatsoever to tell us how we should be acting or what we should be doing. Get fucking bent." Whoa. Kenny does have his moments, but he was never like that before. We were all dead silent for a few moments before Kenny realized what he had just said to Jondy. His eyes went wide and he paled a little bit. "Oh, damn, Jondy. I didn't mean that. I honestly didn't mean to go off on you like that. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

Jondy nodded. "It's okay, Kenny. I understand. I guess you miss Sasha more than we all thought, huh?"

"It'll be okay, Kenny," Zack said. He patted Kenny on the shoulder. "Unfortunately, we do need to get ready for line up and roll call right now."

We all showered and dressed and made our bunks, but we were quieter than usual. Kenny's outburst had pretty much drained something out of us. I really did feel bad for him. He had met a girl that he had fallen head-over-heels for and only days after they had met, she had to leave and the chances of them seeing each other again were slim to none. I don't know how Tinga has been holding herself together since Biggs left. Ben and Rena seemed to be coping with being separated again from their twins better. Not that they don't miss them like mad, though, but they seemed to find strength in each other.

Line up and roll call and all of that jazz was the same. In other words, mind-numbingly boring. Thank goodness that it all finally ended and we marched towards the cafeteria for breakfast. I really was starting to get hungry, even for the tasteless scrambled eggs and potatoes that I'd decided to go with this morning. All I could say when I finally sat down at our pushed-together tables with the X6s was thank goodness for my coffee. The coffee that's available to the older transgenics for breakfast is actually pretty decent, but I think that's only because it's the same coffee that the trainers and other staff drinks and Lydecker forbid they drink horrible coffee. We were quiet for a good stretch while we concentrated on our breakfasts. I guess I wasn't the only person that was starving.

"I am actually looking forward to my Advanced Infiltration class today," Becky said. "Some of the things that they're talking about are pretty cool."

"Either that or you just want to speed-learn the crap so that you can take the tests to clear you for solo missions within the next few months," Kevin teased. Becky rolled her eyes while several of us laughed. Kevin does have a point. Becky is a born overachiever, just like Zack.

"Yeah," Ralph chimed in. "Didn't you tell me yesterday before lights out that Colonel Lydecker had told you that if you keep your scores and everything up in their current ranges that he might schedule you to take those tests as early as June?"

"Backed into a corner," Krit said.

"So what?" Becky said. "I really am finding the current topics in Advanced Infiltration interesting and I do want to keep things going at my current rate so that I can take my tests in a couple of months. I won't deny it."

"And you'll be gunning for Zack's cumulative score, won't you?" Ben said, grinning.

"Of course," Becky said. "I tied his score on the group missions test. I want to hold this record solo."

"That might be so, but that is also presuming that Jeff won't out do your score when he eventually takes his solo tests," Wes said. He laughed and Becky just rolled her eyes again.

"Wes, cool it," Jeff said, though he sounded amused.

"Speaking of solo missions," Krit said. "Does anybody have anything in particular that they want me to pick up when I leave in a couple of days to go relieve some foreign generals of brain matter and possibly other organs?"

"For crying out loud, Krit, at breakfast?" Max said, disgusted.

"As sad as it sounds, shredded brains and entrails sound a hell of a lot more appetizing that what we're eating," Krit said.

"He's got a point," I said. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's what they put into the meatloaf that they give us for lunch on Tuesdays."

"Neither would I," Krit agreed. "So, anybody? Any requests?"

"Yeah, if you could pick up some more of that music from that group, that would be awesome," Wayne said. "The CD that I got for myself on my last mission rocked."

"I'm good," Gale said. "I can't think of anything that I want right now."

"Neither can I," Elle said. She smiled sweetly. "Or at least nothing that a manly-man like yourself is willing to get."

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with Krit being a tough kind of guy sometimes," Syl said. "I think it's cute."

"You mean you think that it's a big turn on," Rena said. She exchanged a look with Max and Jondy before all three of them started to laugh hysterically.

"Shut up. We're not involved with each other quite like that," Syl said. I quickly shoved a forkful of my eggs into my mouth to keep from also laughing. Syl obviously forgot our Psych Warfare lessons because she left herself completely open for a major comeback from Rena and Rena was never one to miss a chance to verbally pounce on Syl.

"Syl? Does that mean—" Max started to say, but then Syl quickly cut her off.

"None of your business, Max," Syl said. "If you want to go there, how about you and you-know-who finally get your acts together and get something going?" There were a few snickers from around the group and I couldn't help a smile myself. I guess Syl must have recovered some sense of self-preservation because she purposefully left out Zack's name, though Syl really is right. Jondy and Jack make no secret of the fact that they like each other, at least they haven't for the past few months though I know they've been giving each other looks for close to a year and they keep the specifics of their relationship to themselves. But as much as Syl and Krit dance around each other and deny sparks are between them and believe me there are, Max and Zack are about a million times worse.

Max started to reply and was cut off once more, though this time it was because of the warning bell. We all stood up and put our trays away and marched over to the lecture hall where they were having the assembly. We found seats and sat down and watched everybody else come in. I'm not kidding when I said everybody else. It seemed like every transgenic who didn't absolutely have to be on duty or wasn't still in baby training made their way into the lecture hall. Finally, a few minutes later, Lydecker entered the room and stood behind the podium and everybody shut up.

"I've got some news that will have a tremendous impact on each and every one of you," he said. "The committee that is in charge of overseeing Manticore has decided to make a few changes. The first change is that it has been decided that I am to move up to fill a recently vacated spot on the committee and thus must leave my post here in charge of this facility as well as head director of all three Manticore sites."

I made sure I had my best poker face on then, because really did come out of left field. As much as all of us hated Lydecker, he had been a constant in our lives and as they say, better the devil you know than the one that you don't. If and when we get a new director, would he or she be better or worse than Lydecker? What was going to happen?

"You will not be getting a new director, at least not in the manner than many of you presume," Lydecker continued. "As Director Warren of the Syracuse facility will likewise be moving up to fill a second vacant spot on the committee, it has also been decided that all three facilities will be consolidated into one. Because the complex in Seattle is more than large enough to accommodate all transgenics and requisite staff and still have plenty of room for expansion of the series' in the years to come, you will all be moved there. This move will be taking place starting tomorrow. At precisely 0630, all X-series transgenics series' three through seven as well as all Psy Ops-series transgenics will be transferred with the rest of the transgenics being transferred to Seattle the following day at the same time. This facility as well as the one located in Syracuse will be kept as training grounds and bases of operation when needed, but not as they currently stand. All X3, X4, X5, and X6 squad commanding officers and second-in-commands will report to me immediately following this assembly so that they may receive their series' living arrangements as well as instructions for deployment to Seattle and they can distribute it to the other unit C.O.s within their respective generations. Your first classes of the day have been canceled so that you may go over the information as you see fit. That is all. Dismissed."

We all saluted Lydecker. My head was spinning. We were all going to pack up and move to Seattle first thing in the morning? This was unreal. I turned my head as Zack, Max, Becky, and Jeff got up and made their way to the front to Lydecker. I saw the grins on the faces of Ben, Rena, Tinga, and Kenny. I guess that slim to none chance turned out to work after all. We waited for Zack, Max, Becky, and Jeff to get their information and then distribute it among the other X5 and X6 units before they returned to us.

"Let's all meet in the kids' barracks," Max suggested. "It's a little bit closer than ours are." We nodded in agreement and followed her and Zack out of the lecture hall and through the hallways until we reached the X6's barracks and went inside. We sat down on the floor as Max opened up the folder that Zack had handed to her and set it down so that more of us could get a look at it. "We all know that we've got our own cells in Seattle."

"Yay! After more than twenty-three years I finally get my own room," Zane said sarcastically.

"Not a moment too soon," Krit said.

"Anyway," Max said pointedly. "Us big kids are going to be living in C Wing, third floor, block six." She looked up and saw that Jeff, Wes, Ralph, Christian, and Layla were all looking slightly uncomfortable and grew concerned. "Is something wrong?"

Jeff shook his head. "No, technically nothing's wrong. That's just where we used to live before last year." He bravely put on a smile. "Whoever's in cell number one, and I'm guessing that's going to be Zack, check the second block dead center underneath the bunk. That's where I had stashed my contraband and I'm pretty sure that last year when I was packing my stuff to be transferred over here, I forgot a pistol and an mp3 player that I'd swiped on the last mission that I'd gone on before the Poland disaster."

"Yeah, I did get that cell," Zack said. "I'll let you know if I find any of your things."

"Thanks," Jeff said.

"You younger guys are going to be nearby. You're on the same floor in the same wing but in block eight," Max said.

"Does anybody have any questions?" Zack asked.

Jeff held up a hand, though it was more of a 'hold on, I can answer this' gesture that an 'I've got a question one.' "Alec, Biggs, and Sasha's unit are on the same wing as us, but they're on the fourth floor and in block number one." He and most of the rest of us, myself included, grinned at the sheepish expressions on the faces of Kenny and Tinga.

"I think the kid's developing psychic powers," Kenny said.

"I don't think I'm going to be getting any sleep tonight," Rena said. "I can't believe it! I didn't think I was ever going to see my twin again and now I will! This is a dream come true."

"Somebody help us all because him and Alec will be together again," I said, pointing towards Ben. "Remember how bad they were when they teamed up last year before Alec had to go back to Seattle?"

"We were not bad," Ben insisted. "Besides, that is a relative term to begin with. I prefer to think of it as us livening things up a bit."

"Those two plus our guys plus Biggs…" Jondy shuddered. "I don't think Manticore quite knows what it's getting into."

"Hell, let the games begin!" Reese said with a grin. "I think this is going to turn out to be a blast."

"Maybe it will be," I agreed.

TBC


	31. Chapter 31: Alec X5 494

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 31: Alec (X5-494)**

I'll be willing to admit that I've been on pins and needles since I got up at 0630 this morning. But can you really blame a guy who is about to see his twin brother again for the first time in about a year? Then there's Biggs, who's really got it bad for that one woman Tinga. Not that I can blame the guy, she is beautiful just like all of the female X-series transgenics. And hey, if I'm excited about seeing Ben again and Biggs is counting the seconds until he sees Tinga, they you're going to have to scrape Sasha off of the ceiling. Not only is she looking forward to having Rena around, but she's excited about finally getting something going with that guy Kenny. I knew that they, as well as the rest of the threes, fours, fives, sixes, sevens, and Psy Ops group from Wyoming were scheduled to arrive at around 900 hours our local time with the same series' from Syracuse scheduled to make it here at about 1300 hours. Yeah, things are going to be lively around here no matter how you slice it.

"Thank goodness that's done and over with," 786 said in disgust. We'd just spent most of the morning leading a unit of X8s through an exercise in the west woods. I actually don't mind it when we're asked to do something like that. Having the rest of our time until lunch free is an added bonus. "My God, could those children have been any more hyper? They obviously haven't heard the words 'calm down' before."

"And you obviously haven't heard the words 'shut up' before," Sasha remarked. "Those kids were curious. We were all that curious when we were that age, remember? I'm pretty sure that the trainer that was taking us through this one exercise in those same woods about, oh, fifteen years ago had to threaten to send you to solitary to make you shut up."

"Oh, big freaking deal," 967 said. "We all know that 786 couldn't keep her mouth closed when she was a kid." Why, oh, why do they keep leaving the door open enough for Sasha so that a heard of cattle could come stampeding through? It never fails.

Sasha didn't fail me, either. "That's true, 967. She couldn't keep her mouth closed when she was a child and now she can't keep her legs closed as an adult." She turned her head so that she was looking directly behind her at 786 and smiled. "I bet that you're happy about all of the soldiers being transferred here from Wyoming and New York, huh? That's got to be at least a hundred and twenty or so fresh targets for you and that's only the X5 guys. I'm not even taking account the X3 or X4 men from those facilities or the X6s that have at least started their horny teenage male phase."

"Gee, look where we are," Biggs said in exaggerated surprise. Thank goodness he can keep his head together. "We're at our block!"

"Okay, people, we've got about forty-five minutes until we have to be in the cafeteria for lunch," I said. "You can do whatever whenever until then." I nodded to them and they all scattered off in small groups. I turned to Biggs and Sasha. "Do I even need to ask?"

Biggs motioned off towards the nearest stairwell and Sasha and I followed him. "I heard that they were randomly assigned to the block that 941's old unit used to live in." He frowned for a moment. "I meant Jeff. I forgot for a second that he picked out a name before he and Christian came back with us for that one day so that they could get their gear."

"This has got to be interesting for him and those guys," I said. We reached the block where Ben and his crew were living. I could hear at least some of them in their cells, so I knocked against the wall near cell number one before leaning against the same wall and grinning. "Welcome wagon."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ben's voice said from down the hallway. A few moments later, one of the cell doors opened and Ben came out of the cell and walked up to us and gave me a quick hug. "Hey, Alec. Great to see you again. I missed you."

"Missed you too, bro," I said.

"Hey, Biggs," Ben said. He reached out and shook Biggs' hand. "Yes, Tinga is here. With the fact that we had to get up so early this morning and the last-minute packing and then unpacking and other settling in crap when we finally got here…anyway, she's over there in cell number eight." He had that same smirk that I have a lot that usually ends up with Sasha slapping me upside the head. "In the shower. Personally, I think that's a good thing. I know how girls complain about us after we have just put in a good round of exercise, but have you smelled any of them when—ow!" He turned around and saw Max standing behind him. "Hey, Maxie. Have you come out to greet our visitors?"

"I officially hate you for bringing out the you in him," she said to me.

"Good to know," I said. "It's also good to see you again."

Max smiled. "Likewise. Hey, Sasha. Hey, Biggs. How have you guys been since the last time that we all saw you?"

"The usual," Biggs said. "Training, missions, you name it. Went on two or three pretty good solos in the past year including one that took me outside Manticore for close to four months. I had to tag around some executive that was part of a Canadian-based company that apparently is one of Manticore's suppliers and right up until the last moment of the mission they couldn't decide if I was supposed to be her bodyguard or the person who'd personally set up a meeting for her with the Grim Reaper. They ended up deciding on the former and as far as I know, the woman is still alive." He turned to see Zack coming out of his cell. "Hey, Zack! How have been things?"

"Pretty decent," Zack said. "I got to tag along on a Rangers mission out in western Africa a couple of months ago. It was good to get some straight-up military action. Had a few other missions as well over the past year. Krit's going out on one in two days so grab him when you can and Jace is scheduled to get back from a solo in three days."

"Sounds like fun," I said. "I got to play along on a mission with some S.E.A.L.s one time about two years ago. I had a blast then, plus those guys were really cool. I think you would have liked them."

"Maybe," Zack agreed.

"Hey, you!" a voice said happily. I looked over and saw Tinga emerge from her cell, her wet hair pulled back into a high ponytail. She approached us and gave Biggs a big hug. "It's so good to see you guys again!"

"Well, it's a good thing that you guys have individual cells instead of group barracks now," I commented. That got me slaps upside the head from both Sasha and Max. What is it that compels them to hit me?

"Did I ever say that I want to…make use of either my cell or hers in the way that you are implying?" Biggs said.

"Oooh, watching your language in front of the lady? I'm impressed with you, buddy," I said.

"There's more than one woman present in this hallway," Sasha pointed out.

"Yeah, but I said lady and the last time that I checked…" I ducked out of the way of Sasha and Max before either of them could hit me again and I laughed. "I rest my case. No further questions, your honor."

"Excuse me, prosecutor, but I have a question for the leggy redhead over there," Kenny's voice said. He came around the corner and picked Sasha up and spun her around. "I can't believe you're here!"

"Hey, I'm the one that's lived here for my whole life," Sasha said, laughing as Kenny set her back down on her feet. "I should be giving you that line." She threw her arms around him. "I missed you so much."

"Ditto," Kenny said.

Ben coughed. "PDA alert. PDA alert." Biggs and I snickered.

Kenny flipped us off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Don't I get a hello, sis?"

"Rena!" Sasha said happily. She moved away from Kenny and went up to her own twin and hugged her. "Welcome to Seattle!"

"It's great to be here," Rena said. "I was so excited to get here today that I barely slept last night. It's a good thing that Max and Jondy are usually up all night because I would have been bored out of my mind otherwise."

"You know, I was trying to have a nice moment with Sasha," Kenny teased Rena.

Rena just smiled sweetly. "Yes, I know. I live to make your life difficult."

"That's m—our Rena," Ben said. He walked over to her and threw an arm around her shoulders. "I couldn't be prouder."

"Anyway, where's the rest of the gang?" I asked.

"The kids are in their own block getting settled or just hanging out until lunch," Zack said. "Jeff, Wes, Ralph, Christian, and Layla have already taken them on a tour of the facility. Zane, Reese, Elle, Brin, Krit, and Gale are still in their cells doing the same and the others are out exploring the grounds. We don't have any official classes until after lunch and even then it's a fairly light schedule from that point on until lights out. We don't really get into the swing of things here until tomorrow."

"We still have plenty of time before lunch," Biggs said. "Tinga, you want to go with me to check out the rest of the facility?"

"Sure," Tinga said. "I'd love to." She and Biggs walked off and I couldn't help smiling. My best friend and brother has really got it bad. Maybe I'll be that lucky one of these days.

"So, Alec?" Ben said, interrupting my thoughts. "What do you say that I re-introduce you to Zane, Reese, and Krit?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," I said. After Max, Zack, and Rena had gone back into their cells I looked over at Ben and grinned. "It really is great to see you again, bro."

"Same here," Ben said. We exchanged a high five and grinned.

TBC


	32. Chapter 32: Max X5 452

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 32: Max (X5-452)**

I stretched out on my new bunk in my new cell—okay, so the cell wasn't exactly new considering that it had belonged to Jeff's sister 252 before she had died—but you get the idea. Having your own cell did have its advantages, though I would miss having Jondy right next to me if we wanted to talk when we were both kept up at night because of our shark DNA. I mean, she's not even in a cell next to me. I've got Zack in Jeff's old cell on my left and Jace when she gets back from her mission on my right. Heck, it's no big dealio. If I'm bored at night now all I have to do is to get out of my cell and to go across and just down the hall to talk to Jondy or for her to do the same. I guess both the advantages and the disadvantages of this kind of sleeping arrangement are going to have to take some getting used to.

Once the lights had gone out and the guard had done his checking up on us thing, I got up from the bunk and walked over to the wall near my cell's bathroom. I loosened a block and pulled it free and pulled out a book on motorcycles that Zack had gotten for me when he'd gone on a solo mission a few months ago. I looked sadly at my contraband hiding place for a few moments before I replaced the block and went back to my bunk and sat down on it. That had been where 252 had stashed her contraband as well. I had discovered it this morning when I was looking for a place to stash my stuff and had realized that the block was loose. I'd pulled the block free and had discovered a notebook which turned out to be a journal, a romance novel, a copy of a Stephen King novel, and—naturally—a handgun. I realized that it was 252's things. I mean, it's not like the girl planned to have been killed on that mission. I'd temporarily stashed my own things in one of the drawers of my desk and just a little while ago, when I knew that the kids would be back in their own block, I'd taken 252's things and went over and had given them to Jeff. The poor guy had gotten teary eyed and I didn't blame him at all. I had cried a little bit when I had realized that the stuff that I had come across belonged to 252. It's hard when you come across a reminder of a fallen sibling, and even though 252 technically hadn't been one of my sisters, she had been Jeff's, Ralph's, Layla's, Wes', and Christian's and I felt horrible for them. I still feel that kind of pain a little bit when I see something that reminds me of Kyle or even of Dash and it's been so long since he died.

I wiped my eyes and tried to focus on my book. I really did love it. I've loved motorcycles ever since I had first read about them in my mechanics class when I was a kid and had driven one for the first time in that class when I was twelve. I've since gotten opportunities to use them on a couple of the missions that I've gone on and they are so much fun. There's something that's borderline spiritual about riding down a road at high speed with the wind in your face or at your back and it's just you and the bike. I don't know if it's just me since I've always been one of our family's adrenaline junkies, as Wayne likes to put it, or if it's an X-series thing since Alec had mentioned that he, Biggs, Sasha, and several other members of his unit like to ride motorcycles when they could and I know for a fact that every other member of my family loves it as well. At any rate, I'd been thrilled when Zack had gotten back from that mission and he'd handed the book to me when we were all back in our old barracks that night after lights out. And contrary to what many of my siblings had said, I did _not_ blush when our fingers had accidentally brushed when Zack had given me the book. I think that I would know if I was blushing or not. I swear, sometimes I just want to strangle my family members.

A few moments later, though, I heard some footsteps coming from the direction of the nearest stairwell and I put my book down and waited. Maybe it was Sasha coming to see Rena, Jondy, and I for a chat or maybe it was Alec and Biggs coming to get some mayhem going with the guys. I frowned when I realized that as the footsteps got closer to our block that they definitely did not sound like either Alec or Biggs and another moment later it was crystal clear to me that they also did not belong to Sasha, though they sounded like they belonged to a woman. An uneasy feeling decided to make its home in my stomach as the footsteps stopped nearby. A few seconds later, I heard somebody knock on Zack's cell.

"Who is it?" Zack asked.

"It's just me." I felt my temper fly up to the top of the Space Needle out in the city itself. Guess which slut decided to give our guys another try even though they all turned her down flat on the rescue and destroy mission in Poland last year? "May I come in, 599?"

"No," Zack said flatly and I quickly covered my mouth to keep from laughing. Well, to keep from laughing too loud. It sure was easy to see why Alec, Biggs, and especially Sasha give 786 a hard time so often.

"It's okay, 599," 786 said sweetly. "I just want to have a word with you." I rolled my eyes. Did this bitch need to learn a few things or what? First of all, that tone of voice never worked with Zack. I know that I've occasionally used it with him and I've actually had some success, but none of my sisters have and I'm damn sure that neither me nor my sisters have ever sounded that syrup-y or skanky.

"I'm not interested in having any words with you, 786," Zack informed her. I cheered silently. "Would you please leave? I'm scheduled to run a round of Capture the Flag against another X5 unit tomorrow afternoon immediately after lunch and I would like to get back to working out some strategies. I'm sorry."

"Oh, 599," 786 said. I've got to give the bitch points for tenacity. "We're both adults. Can't we have a talk from one adult to another? I promise that I won't bite." This is her idea of being cute? Unbelievable.

I heard Zack sigh in aggravation and get up and open his cell door to tell the skank whore off face-to-face. "For the last time, 786, I said no. I would like some peace and quiet right now while I'm working. Can you leave?"

"It's not that big of a deal," 786 said. I heard her somehow squeeze past Zack into her cell. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that she managed to do that. From what I've heard, she must have had plenty of practice with that particular maneuver. "I promise."

"786, I will not repeat myself again," Zack said.

"You are a challenge," 786 said. I heard her move closer to Zack. That's it. I got up and blurred from my cell over to Zack's, yanked 786 from where she had just pounced on a startled and resistant Zack, threw the whore into the hallway, and decked the crap out of her. She fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Didn't your test tube ever teach you any manners?" I said.

"Thank you, Max," Zack said. "But was knocking her out really necessary?"

I shrugged. "You're welcome and it's not like I knocked her lights out on purpose or anything like that. I just wanted to give her a good hit."

"You definitely did that," Zack said dryly.

"What the hell was—oh shit!" Wayne said as he left his cell. He smirked. "Nice work, Maxie."

"Thank you, Wayne," I said.

"How did you know that it was Max that hit 786?" Zack asked.

"Because I know that you don't like to hit women unless it's necessary," Wayne said. "I also heard 786 try to come on to you and…well…" He looked too damn smug for his own good.

"Would you like for me to put the smackdown on your ass, too?" I asked.

"No," Wayne said. "Thanks for asking, but I'm not in the mood to have my ass kicked."

"I don't believe it," Rena said as she left her cell and walked over to us. She shook her head. "Man, Sasha's going to be really pissed off. Not because you hit her, but because she missed all of this action."

"What, she's not in Kenny's cell as we speak?" Wayne said.

"Very funny," Rena said. Just then, 786 stirred and groaned. She blinked a few times before looking up and seeing Rena standing over her.

"Oh, wonderful," she moaned sarcastically. "What the hell are you doing here, 121?"

Rena grinned. "Hello, 786. The reason why I'm here is because you went into a cell that you were not supposed to go into and were definitely not welcome in and now I've got to drag you to the infirmary." She patted 786 on one of her cheeks. "Oh, don't worry. There's plenty of new fish in the sea. You don't have to limit yourself to just this one." How did Rena managed to sound sarcastic, patronizing, and yet cheerful at the same time? She turned and looked down towards Ben's open cell door. I could hear Ben snickering inside the cell. "Oh, 494?"

"Yeah, coming," Ben said. He quickly joined Rena. "Well, 786, did you enjoy your nap?"

"Fuck you," 786 said.

"Nope, not desperate enough," Ben said. "Come on, 121, let's drag her back upstairs." He and Rena exchanged grins before they helped 786 up and led her over to the stairs.

"I can only imagine the look on 786's face when she sees both sets of twins standing there in a few minutes," Wayne said. He laughed. "That's gotta be priceless."

"Don't you have to get to sleep, Wayne?" Zack asked pointedly. Wayne grinned and went back to his cell and closed the door behind him. Zack turned to me. "Thanks again, Maxie."

"No problem," I said. "Anytime." Our eyes met and we started to move towards each other before the footsteps of nearby guards startled us and we quickly went back inside our cells. I sat back down on my bunk and sighed before I picked my book back up and resumed my reading.

TBC


	33. Chapter 33: Zack X5 599

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 33: Zack (X5-599)**

I started to march in the direction of our block from the gym, but halfway between the two I turned and went down another hallway and to a rec room. I opened the door and looked inside and surprisingly, there was nobody there. All the better for me, I like peace and quiet when I want to get my thoughts together.

I sat down on a couch and rested my head in my hands. I felt like I had too much going on in my head. It was like Elle had said once when she was talking about a particularly stressful day that she'd had: it felt like my thoughts were the ocean and there was one heck of a hurricane outside. Naturally, some of my brothers had teased her over that line, but it seemed to fit my current state of mind. There was just so much going on right now and I wouldn't be surprised if my head exploded.

Today had been a chaotic day in general, but I guess that could be explained away what with the remaining transgenics from Wyoming and New York arriving over the course of the morning and afternoon, not to mention the meeting that Renfro held with the various squad commanding officers and 2ICs right after breakfast and on top of that the usual hellish schedule. It was completely crazy and non-stop. The meeting was especially annoying. I can't stand meetings to begin with and this one seemed to drag on more so than a typical one. Thank goodness that Max was there. If she hadn't been there to give me the occasional smart aleck-y comment that I'd had to give her looks to remind her not to do that during a meeting, I would have lost my mind.

I bit my lip. Max. She was the other reason that my thoughts were so wild and mixed up. Yet in a way when it came to her, they weren't. After last night's incident with 786, I had gone back inside of my cell, but I hadn't gone over strategies and I had told 786 that I would do. I kept on going over not just what had happened, but lots of things that have happened over the years, from when Max had first been brought into the unit back in the Fall of 2001 when she was only two years old to the present. I could almost hear every single comment that my siblings made about Max and me and denial as I reflected on the past seventeen years. Things started to come together. I had never referred to Maxie as my baby sister to myself since she had been a kid. I'd never thought of her as a sister to me since that time, to be honest. Every time that we came into physical contact, I always felt my heart speed up and fire almost pulse out from where we had touched and as a result I'd had a harder time concentrating whenever we would have to spar against each other. I would get almost irrationally scared for her when she would be on an especially dangerous mission or even more intensely protective of her than I would over the other female members of my family. I always tried to be as honest with myself as I could and this time was definitely no exception to my rule: I didn't love Max as a sister, though she was definitely one of my best friends. I was flat out in love with her and it was scaring me more than Lydecker ever did when I was younger. I sighed and then looked up when I heard a few pairs of footsteps approaching and I relaxed slightly when I saw that it was Max, Jondy, and Eva. The three of them looked inside and saw me sitting by myself before they had a whispered conversation quiet enough for me not to be able to hear. Jondy and Eva nodded to Max and continued to walk down the hallway and Max entered the room. My heart beat started to pick up once again. She never fails to do that to me.

"Hey," Max said. She sat down next to me. "Having one of those days, huh?"

"Yeah, I am," I agreed. I looked at Max for several moments before I sighed and shook my head.

Max smirked. "Wow, you're not going to tell me to get my butt back in my bunk or at least back to my cell before lights out? Are you going soft these days, Zack?"

"No, I just know when to call it a day on certain fronts," I replied.

Max laughed softly to herself but then looked concerned as she picked up on how stressed I was. "What about on this one? Zack, you're looking much too tense again."

"That's just part of the job," I said. "I have to deal with not only our family, but every other X5 that was originally from Wyoming as well. You know that as well as I do, Max."

"Cut that bullshit," Max said. She rolled her eyes. I should have known that she would do that. "Maybe that kind of line would shut up or even chase off one of said other X5s, but I'm not one of them. Tell me what is bugging you."

I raised an eyebrow. "I know that you aren't one of them and accordingly, you should know that you can't force information out of me."

"Is that a challenge?" Max said. I looked at her to see if she was teasing. Sometimes it's hard to tell with Max when it comes to something like this. She sighed. "I'm sorry. Do you have to be such a hardass like that, Zack?"

"I—" I stopped myself and tried to calm down. I didn't want to pick a fight with Max. "Max, I'm sorry."

Max softened. "I know you are." We sat together in silence for a few moments before Max decided to change the subject. "Speaking of other X5s, have you gotten a chance to meet some of the Seattle group other than Alec's crew or any of the gang from Syracuse other than their command team?" She rolled her eyes. "I met this one prick when I was in Field Med with Jack this afternoon. We were brushing up on treating serious chest wounds and Jack and I had been paired up and this guy decided that he was going to try to shove me out of the way when he went to get some more gauze from the supply cabinet in the room. I asked him _nicely_…" She threw me a look then and I couldn't help smiling a little. "…for an apology and he just snorted and blew me off and I asked him again and he told me that I was something that I don't like to say in front of the kids. I asked him what his problem was and he said sarcastically 'I'm sorry, sweetheart, I just prefer redheads to brunettes. But if you _really_ want, we could arrange something.' Since I knew this guy wasn't on the Syracuse squad's command team, I pulled rank on his sorry ass and told him to shut up. God, I hate pulling rank on people. Well, usually I do. This time I didn't have a problem with it."

"He propositioned you?" I asked. I tried to keep my voice as calm as possible, but I was clenching one of my fists behind my back.

"No," Max said. "At least I don't think that he was. I'm pretty sure that he was being at least half sarcastic then. Either way, though, I still want to strangle the guy." She took a good look at me and I knew that she could tell that I was trying to keep my temper under control. She smirked. "Or am I going to have to get in line behind you for that particular honor?"

I took a deep breath. "Well, you punched out 786 last night so by that token I guess I should get first crack at the asshole who at least half propositioned you. Fair is fair." I shrugged. "What was that guy's designation, anyway?"

"It was almost the same as yours…591, that's right," Max said. "You're right, that would be fair of me to let you get the first crack at him. He did back down once I pulled rank on him, though. He apparently has marginally more brains than 786 does." She smiled at me. "But it is nice to know that you've got my back."

"Always, Maxie," I said. Something compelled me to lean forward towards her as if I was in a trance. What was it about Max that never failed to make me spellbound time after time? Was it those almost hypnotic brown eyes of hers? Was it her laugh? Was it those full lips that my own were drawing closer to…and closer…and kissing softly. Time stood still and for probably the first time in my life, I was completely unaware of everything around me except for Maxie. It was…it was amazing.

"Zack," she whispered. "Zack, what was that?"

"Maxie, I love you," I blurted out. I had to tell her while I had something resembling courage. "Not as a sister, but…I love you. I've loved you for as long as I can remember. The others were right this whole time as much as I've denied it." My stomach felt like it was in knots as I waited for Max's response. She was speechless for several long moments before she leaned forward and kissed me until both of us were breathless.

"I love you too," she said. "For so long."

I was now the one that was unable to speak. To actually hear those words come out of Max's mouth overwhelmed me. Finally, I was able to smile and I lifted a hand to stroke her cheek. "It makes sense that the others were able to catch onto it before the two of us, doesn't it?"

"Oh yeah," Max agreed. She smirked. "You always were the most stubborn person known to mankind, Zack."

"That's the pot calling the kettle black," I pointed out to her.

"And is that why you love me?" Max said, her voice softening.

"Absolutely," I said. "Absolutely."

TBC


	34. Chapter 34: Reese X5 552

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 34: Reese (X5-552)**

I managed to give the doctor a half-decent salute, despite the pain in both of my sides and my left leg. God only knew how the rest of me was going to be sore in the morning. I shifted myself on the crutches and hobbled my beaten ass out of the infirmary and back towards my cell. And it's still not even time for dinner yet. Great.

Today started off as decently as it ever gets here at Manticore. I'm really starting to dig being here in Seattle. Alec and Biggs are great buddies and there's even more space to stretch my legs, so to speak. I've got my own cell, I've got my own bathroom…it'd be perfect if it wasn't for that whole military-training-to-the-point-of-and-including-torture thing. Yeah, aside from the major crap that's been a part of my life since the moment that I was born, I'm having a good time.

When I got my schedule for today from Zack at the crack of dawn today, I was scheduled to run some kind of exercise out in the woods right after lunch with a mixed group of other X5s that included Alec, Biggs, and Sasha. I did not have a good feeling about it. My apprehension did not come from the fact that aside from my sibs and my new friends I would be working with strangers, it was coming from the tiny little fact that the exact nature of the activity was not listen when I took a look at my schedule this morning when Zack had given it to me. Whenever that particular detail is omitted from a schedule, it usually means bad news. I was still in a pretty decent mood though slightly apprehensive as I marched out to one of the yards with Wayne, Ben, Rena, and Gale, though. It even started out pretty well. I smiled a little as I recalled what had happened when I'd first arrived at the yard.

* * *

_"There they are," Ben said. He waved and I looked and I spotted Alec, Biggs, and Sasha standing around with an X5 that I didn't recognize. "Hey, guys."_

"_Hey, bro," Alec said. "Guys, this is 228. She's from Unit 4 here in Seattle. 228, this is 493, 120, 552, 369, and 831." He lowered his voice just enough so that we were the only ones who could hear him. "Otherwise known as Ben, Rena, Reese, Wayne, and Gale."_

_I raised an eyebrow. "You told her about the name deal?"_

"_Yeah. Don't worry, we've been friends with 228 for years," Alec assured us. "She's cool."_

"_And you guys can call me CeCe," 228 added._

"_Awesome," Wayne said. He reached for CeCe's hand and brought it up to his lips. "Glad to make your acquaintance, fair lady. I am enchanted."_

_CeCe looked over at Sasha and raised an eyebrow. "Is it just me, or is he as bad as Alec over here?"_

"_No, it's not just you," Sasha said. "The scary thing is that unlike Ben here, Wayne isn't related to Alec that we know of." She shrugged. "Either way, Wayne's pretty harmless."_

_Wayne turned to me. "Should I be insulted?"_

"_Beats the heck out of me," I said. "I mean, considering the source—"_

* * *

I reached our block and paused at the beginning of the hall to catch my breath. Damn, broken ribs suck so bad. Thank goodness they usually heal in about three days but it's three days of non-stop pain when you do so much as cough. Fun to be had be all, huh?

"Reese? What are you doing here? I thought you would be busy with that exercise until after dinner."

I smiled. "Hey, Zack. It kind of got called early."

Zack frowned. "What happened to you, Reese?"

I dropped the smile. Zack was not going to like this. I sure as hell didn't like what had happened. "Can we go into my cell? I really need to lie down before dinner."

"Absolutely," Zack said. We made our way down the hall and we went into my cell. I carefully lay down on my bunk and Zack sat down in my desk chair. "Tell me what happened."

"Sure," I said. I took as deep of a breath as I could manage and then began to tell Zack what had happened only a few hours earlier.

* * *

_I suddenly stopped talking when I heard footsteps approaching and we all quickly formed a line and stood at attention when we saw that it was the trainers that were in charge of our mystery exercise. I took a deep breath. I hadn't been this nervous since the day years ago back in Gillette that Brin and I were told that they found out that we had been classified as 'at risk' for that progeria disease and had taken us into the infirmary to correct whatever was or could go wrong._

"_Listen up, you maggots," the trainer yelled. "We are going to be working together this fine morning. All of you should know by now that even though you have been primarily trained to work with your own units, you can, will, and have worked with other soldiers from unfamiliar units. One of the purposes of this morning's exercise is to reinforce you ability in this area." He smirked as much as a trainer usually does in front of us. "Now, I come from New York, so I am unfamiliar with most of you and I can imagine that you are in a similar boat. Each and every one of you will give me your designations starting from that end now." He pointed to Gale at one end of the line._

"_Sir, X5-831, sir!" she yelled._

"_Sir, X5-369, sir!" Wayne yelled_

"_Sir, X5-552, sir!" I yelled. I stood there at attention as Ben, Rena, Alec, and the rest of the thirty-six X5s present for the activity called out their designations. Nothing like getting to know each other, huh?_

"_Now that we know each other, let's finish getting down to business," the trainer said. Almost out of nowhere, we all saw another group of X5s approach us, none of whom I recognized. "Another purpose of this exercise is to work on your ability to persevere under adverse conditions." I froze. Hell no. "You all know as well as anybody that as good and physically superior as each and every one of you are, you are not perfect and you might become injured while out in the field and have no choice but to continue to complete your objective. When one of your fellow X5s approaches you, you are _not _to resist. You will not fight back. When they are finished, only then will you be given your mission parameters." He gestured to the other soldiers and I braced myself for what I knew was coming. I was not disappointed when one of the other X5s stepped up to me and swung a kick directly to my left side. I could feel and hear the ribs breaking as the soldier continued his attack._

* * *

"That again?" Zack said quietly. He shook his head. "When will those assholes ever stop this crap with us?" He sighed. "Are you going to be okay, Reese?"

"Yeah, I didn't get off too badly," I said. "I only at least cracked almost half of the bones between the clavicle and the ankles. I'm happy that I didn't have to go under the knife." I briefly closed my eyes as I remembered why the exercise had been called early. "One of the others had her ribs broken so badly that only about twenty minutes into the actual exercise, it punctured her lung and we had to call it an afternoon then. I heard that she's going to be okay, though." I smiled mirthlessly. "And I overheard that the X5 that worked her over is going to be thrown in solitary for a good month as punishment for going too far."

"What about the others?" Zack asked softly.

"Well, I'm right here." I turned my head to see Wayne standing in the doorway, also on crutches. "I actually spoke with one of the docs down in the infirmary before they kicked me loose. Gale's got a concussion so she'll be there overnight. They sprung Alec already and they should be releasing Rena, Sasha, and Biggs any minute now. We're done for a week."

"Enjoy your vacation," Zack said. "I've got some things to go over before dinner." He got up and walked over to the cell door and paused. "I'm sorry, you guys."

"So are we," I said quietly.

TBC


	35. Chapter 35: Syl X5 701

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: I had said before that Krit's designation in this AU was going to be the same as it had been in the show (471), but I decided to keep things a little more consistent that I would change it to what I had it as in the "Where Were You?"/ "Together", etc. AU (157). I'm sorry if this confuses anybody. Spoiler-ish stuff for the pilot.

**Chapter 35: Syl (X5-701)**

I tried to focus on driving the car down the road. It wasn't too hard. It's not like 836, who was sitting next to me, was offering any kind of conversation or anything like that. I have no idea why she had been assigned to go with me on this mission when I had been assigned to it last week. I know that I had joked around with Rena and told her that I would prefer 836 going with me than her even though she'd be recovered from her injuries from that God-awful exercise that she, Wayne, Ben, Reese, and Gale had gone though by then. But let's be honest here, joking was all that I was doing. It's not that I hated 836 per se, it's just that she was being pretty damn anti-social. Oh, well. There wasn't much I could do about it. I just hoped that she would pull herself together so that we could complete the mission that we were supposed to do.

I looked down at the dashboard for a split second and rolled my eyes. It's amazing how the good people at Manticore had everything that even a country whose military had not been affected by the Pulse could have and yet not have the vehicles that they have set aside for use on mission filled with less than a full tank of gas. "We're going to have to stop for gas, 836," I said.

836 snorted. "Fine, 701. Whatever we need to do."

I took a deep breath to try to keep down the urge to slap the daylights out of the woman. I spotted a gas station just up ahead and pulled in. I turned off the engine and figured out how to use the pump and got that started before I leaned on the car and stared down at 836. "It would help if you would be nicer to me while we're out, 836." I sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was snapping at you. I'm just a little bit annoyed."

"With me?" 836 said in mock surprise. "There's a shock. My unit and pretty much ever single trainer and other personnel has been annoyed with me at one time or another. Why should you be any different, 701, huh?"

This was not going to be easy. I shook my head but did not say anything as the gas tank filled. I unhooked the pump and went inside the little convenience store to pay the guy for the gas and may I say that six bucks a gallon for gasoline is a complete rip off? I've seen it for as little as four a gallon in other places in the country. I went back to the car, got in, and drove off. 836 and I were quiet for at least another ten minutes before I started to get bored. Man, do I wish that Krit was here. He'd always have me laughing. It never failed how he could always get a smile out of me, no matter how bored or depressed or angry I was at the time.

"Why are you blushing?" 836 asked.

Note to self: do _not_ tell any of my sisters about this. "I don't know," I lied. Well, sort of lied. I think I knew why I was apparently blushing but I don't know the exact reasons behind it. It's not as if I like Krit in that way. I decided to change the subject. "It should only be another half an hour or so until we reach our motel."

"Good," 836 said. She shifted around in her seat. "I can finally get out of this car."

"I guess lunch didn't count?" I muttered.

"Excuse me?" 836 said.

"Just spill it, okay?" I said. "If you're going to insist on having an attitude with me for this entire mission then seeing as I am the one in charge on this little excursion, I have a right to know why."

836 was silent for another few moments before she opened her mouth again. "Do you have any idea what it's like for people not to trust you or look at you like you're a piece of crap, 701? I'm not just talking about everybody else, but my own commanding officer. That's not to say that at least a quarter of the transgenics back at Manticore still look at me and 311 and 429 and the rest of our unit like we're the scum of the Earth, but 333 himself, the guy who's been leading my unit for the past sixteen years. I asked him the other day before you and I were deployed about it and are you aware of what he said to me? He told me it was because I had failed. Failed what, you might ask? Failed my mission, said mission being when we tried to make a break of it back in 2009. Oh sure, I made it over the perimeter fence that night but I only lasted nine months on the Outside before your _beloved_ commanding officer and other unit mates and those other jerks from Unit 4 brought me back to the shit hole that we used to call home in Wyoming."

I was floored. "Why?"

"Why what? Why does 333 hate my guts?" 836 guessed. I nodded and she shrugged. "How the hell should I know? Maybe he's still angry about the fact that a TAC team caught up to him that night and I managed to stay one step ahead of them. I don't have a clue and he sure as hell didn't tell me the fine print underneath his reasoning. Whatever, I don't care so much now that I know where 333 stands."

I really didn't know what to say to 836. "Oh."

"I'm mostly furious with myself," 836 continued. "How could I have been so stupid getting caught? I pull down the collar of my turtleneck for a second or two so that I could scratch where the stupid shirt label was making my neck itch and 272 I.D.s my sorry rear end. How dumb could I have gotten? Well, it could have been worse. I could have gotten caught the way that 311 did. How could he have missed a camera when he'd gone in to rob that guy's place? I know that we had enough training even back then to know to be extremely thorough when checking for cameras."

"Why did you escape?" I asked. I was curious. I'm not afraid to admit that. Besides, I knew that I wasn't the only transgenic that wasn't a part of 836's unit that wanted to know the exact reasons behind what went down that one night back in March of '09.

"So you can tell Director Renfro?" 836 said mockingly.

"No, because I'm curious," I said. I want to be patient with her, but this bitch was climbing my nerves even quicker than Rena could when she wanted to and Rena was never mean or malicious when she did that. "It's called cat DNA, remember? And I've got no reason to tell anybody like Director Renfro." I narrowed my eyes as I glance quickly at 836 before looking back at the road. "Do you want to give me a reason?"

"No, ma'am," 836 said. She shrugged. "You might be a part of the best X5 unit from Wyoming, but even you should know or have an idea at the very least of how bad it sucks at Manticore. It's so damn tough there. They were always so hard on my unit in particular because we were not the best. We always struggled to get things right. That night once we had gotten back to our barracks after our training that day, 333 asked why we should have to put up with all of this stuff and we agreed with him. He came up with a plan and at around 0230, we evac-ed out of the building. Of course, we were barely out the door before they were wise to what was going on and I know that I barely made it over the fence and safely away that night. I could even see out of the corner of my eye my old unit mate 959 take one when she was trying to resist a TAC team that had closed in on her and of course I found out what had happened to everybody else once I was brought back to Manticore."

"Wait a second," I said. "You're telling me that the whole reason that you and your unit decided to try to go AWOL from Manticore is because you weren't the best and you thought it was too hard?" That wasn't right. It was the right decision, I mean escaping from our home was a good and right decision, but it was made for all of the wrong reasons. "You don't try to leave something just because it's hard and it's a challenge. That's so childish, 836."

"Well, we kind of were children then," 836 pointed out. Good point. "Besides, I won't be doing that again. What was my reward for following on 333's idea? Nine months of being free from Manticore followed by six months of Psy Ops and then being looked upon as if I were pond scum. Thanks, but no thanks. I don't know why the higher-ups are or at least were afraid of us running again because I have no intention of giving that another go. I already had six months of incredible shit, do you really think that I would risk that again especially with those Psy Ops guys now fully integrated into the thing there? No way."

I guess you must not want to leave Manticore as badly as you think that you do, 836. If something is worth the risks, then you'll do whatever it possibly takes for you to reach your goal. I didn't say anything to 836 for the rest of the drive and she was quiet to me in return. Once we got to the motel, we got our things put away and 836 went into the bathroom to clean up while I sat on one of the beds, deep in thought. If something as relatively childish as it being hard and them not being the best X5s were the reasons why Unit 7 had tried to escape all those years ago, what would have been the breaking point for me and my family? We all hated Manticore and would love it if we were completely free from there. Why hadn't we made our own try at freedom? I sighed. I knew that we were all watched closely in general by Lydecker and the trainers and everybody after Unit 7's botched attempt and then later, we became close with X6 Unit 1 and they became an extended part of our family. I wouldn't say that they held us back, far from it. We genuinely loved them like they were—and are—our younger siblings. But we never broached the subject with them. They didn't seem like they completely shared the same feelings about Manticore that we did, except for maybe Becky. Maybe it would have taken something in particular to really kick our butts into action. What would have been our breaking point? Who knows? But I guess there's no point in thinking about what could have been. Zack would tell me in his hardass-but-concerned-as-hell way to relax and Krit would put his arm around me and agree with me and calm me down. I shook my head as I turned on the TV and waited for 836 to finish in the bathroom. It certainly was food for thought in any case, wasn't it?

TBC


	36. Chapter 36: Parker X5 537

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

One week later...

**Chapter 36: Parker (X5-537)**

I sat in the computer lab, bored out of my mind. I can and have pretty much blasted my way though any program that Manticore ever thought up at to test our skills at hacking into computer systems. I'm not arrogant, though, honestly. You can't be when it comes to this kind of thing. As big of dickheads as the trainers are, they do have a valid point: when you become cocky, you lose concentration and when you lose concentration you make mistakes and that means disaster in this area. I suddenly straightened in my seat and typed a few more commands into the program that I was working on when one of said dickhead trainers came towards me.

"Nice work there, 537," he said after looking at the monitor. "Fine work. Keep at it, soldier."

"Thank you, sir, I will," I said. As soon as the trainer had moved on, I typed in the next series of commands and then I had a little bit of time, so I looked up and around the room. Some of the X5s who had the time in the lab right now were specialists in computers like me and others just wanted to work on these skills for whatever reason, like Zack who was sitting at the computer next to mine. He was okay at computers, but he did not like to use them very much. I turned my head to look at him. "You got it now?"

"Yeah," Zack answered. "Thanks, P—537." I glanced up and saw the trainer passing by us again. Like we're going to use our names when they're in hearing distance. What are we, stupid?

I concentrated on my work and grinned when the bell signaling the end of the class finally rang. I quickly shut down the computer and stood up and Zack and I left the computer lab. "Thank goodness that's done and over with. Do you think that it could have been any more boring?"

Zack frowned. "No, it was pretty damn boring as it was. I wish that I didn't have to practice my computer skills." He cracked his knuckles. "I can't wait until I get onto the assault course next."

"Sure," I said dryly. "Nothing like jumping through tires or crawling underneath barbed wire while somebody's shooting blanks at you or tossing smoke grenades." I shrugged. "Hell, I guess it could be worse. I'll take the assault course over the tank any day of the week."

"You, me, and at least ninety percent of everybody else here," Zack agreed. We stopped walking. "I told Max that we'd meet up with her here before we go over to the assault course."

"Then why am I here?" I teased. I counted the shades of red that Zack's face turned. I think I saw about three. It's a good thing that I managed to hold my laughter in or I would have been burnt toast.

"Save the comedy for somebody else," Zack said. "Besides, Jondy and Krit are going to be meeting us here in a few moments, too." He gave me another glare for good measure and I almost couldn't hold my laughter in, but I got distracted by the phone discussion that I could hear taking place in Director Renfro's office just down the hall from where we were standing.

"Ahhh, Colonel Lydecker," Renfro said. "To what do I owe the honor of this phone call?"

"We need the database CD returned," Lydecker said on the other end of the line. "Have the techs finished copying the data yet?" I perked up. The entire Manticore database on hand and practically within reach?

"It's funny that you should mention that, Colonel," Renfro said. She sounded smug as hell, even more so than Ben and Rena did on the day that both of them somehow managed to beat Zack and Max on the obstacle course. "I just received the word from our computer technicians not even five minutes ago that the data transfer has been completed. I will personally return the disc to you, assuming that you are still in the city of course."

"I'm still in Seattle," Lydecker said. "Meet me in the lobby of the hotel at 2100 hours." I heard the line disconnect and Renfro sigh in aggravation. I don't think that she likes Lydecker all that much. Well, there's not much that I can say to that except join the club and get at the end of the line of people who already want to kick his ass. I mentally shook my head and I grinned. That database…

"Parker, I know what you are thinking and the answer is absolutely not," Zack said. I turned back to him. He really does know me like the back of his hand.

"What does Parker want to do now?" Jondy asked as she, Max, and Krit approached us.

"Director Renfro has the entire Manticore database on hand in one of the computers here," I said. "She just had it copied from a CD that she's got to return to Lydecker tonight. Can you imagine how awesome it would be if I could manage to hack into our own mainframe and copy that database for ourselves?"

"That's sick," Krit said. "That's gotta be dangerous as hell, Parker. I know how good you are and everything, but this?"

"That's exactly why you shouldn't do it," Zack said.

I rolled my eyes. "Zack, try not to worry so much. I know what I'm doing. I have all the equipment that I would need to pull this off stashed inside of my cell. If I get the slightest hint that they would be onto me hacking into the mainframe to get the database, then I would stop in a heartbeat. I'm always careful, you know that." I turned to Max. If there was anybody that could get Zack to come around, it was my youngest sister. "Please, Maxie?"

"Just like a child," Max teased. "When daddy says no, you turn and ask mommy."

"Is your name Tinga?" I quipped. That got most of us laughing and even Zack had a faint smile on his face. "Seriously, Max, I know that I'm capable of pulling this off. I could even get Xavier to help me with this. The kid's a genius when it comes to hacking."

"You'd have to go through Becky if and when she finds out," Max said. "As risky as what you want to do is, possibly facing off against her is a hell of a lot more dangerous."

"I'll take my chances," I said. And pray that Jeff will be nearby to calm her down if she gets pissed.

"Good to know," Becky said from behind me. I jumped a mile, causing Max, Jondy, and Krit to laugh. Becky's expression was unreadable. "Are you absolutely, positively sure that you can do this without getting caught and if they catch you, you can get out before they can confirm who it is?"

"I'm sure," I said honestly.

Becky nodded and exchanged looks with my sibs before she smiled a little. "Then I'm going to have one hell of a time scraping Xavier off of the ceiling at dinner because of how excited he'll be when he helps you with this."

"You rock, baby sis," I gave her a kiss on the cheek and she gave me a weird look, which again made Max, Krit, and Jondy laugh.

"I thought I liked to take risks, but you took a whopper of one just now," Jondy said.

"I like to surprise even myself sometimes," I replied.

"Let's get going," Zack said. "We still need to get out to the assault course on time."

"Have fun," Becky said. "Good luck."

"Thanks," I said. "We will." I gave her a quick wave and watched her continue on her way before Zack led the rest of us out towards the course.

TBC


	37. Chapter 37: Tinga X5 656

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 37: Tinga (X5-656)**

I sat down on my bunk after the lights went out, just enjoying a few moments of peace before I was going to get ready for bed. I need a little bit of peace and quiet after the end of yet another hectic day here. Suddenly, I sat straight up and then smiled when I heard footsteps moving stealthily down the hall and grinned when they stopped in front of my cell. I got up and went over to my cell door, opened it, and pulled Biggs inside. "Hey there, sweetie." I closed the door behind us.

"Hi, gorgeous," Biggs said. He smiled at me. "I just thought that I would stop by and see how my favorite woman is doing."

"I'm doing just fine," I said. "And now that you're here, I'm even better." Biggs leaned his head down and kissed me. I returned the kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. I felt tingles—no pun intended—from head to toe. His lips are magic, I swear. I couldn't help pouting when we finally broke the kiss.

"Want more?" Biggs teased.

"Now, that is a silly question, young man," I replied in the same tone of voice. I smiled. "Of course I do." I pulled Biggs' head down to mine and kissed him. What was it about him that made me feel this way? We'd only been 'dating' since the facilities had been consolidated three weeks ago, though we had that week or so last year for the Poland mission. It was almost crazy, how I felt about Biggs. When I kissed him, nothing seemed to matter. I could ignore anything and everything from Krit snoring in the cell next door to the soft sounds of my other siblings as they left their cells to do who-knows-what. However, I couldn't quite ignore the knock on the door and Biggs and I reluctantly separated. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Max said. "I'm sorry to interrupt you guys, but Parker and Xavier finally have the database ready for us to look at. We're meeting in the third floor C wing rec room to look at it."

"Oh, good," I said. "Give us a few moments." I shrugged a little as I turned my head to face Biggs. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," Biggs said. "I'll grab Alec and Sasha and we'll meet you there in a few." He gave me one more kiss and he left my cell. I smiled, put my boots back on, left the cell as well, and shut the door behind me. I quietly followed my brothers and sisters to the rec room in question and we sat down in the couches or on the floor as Parker took off the backpack that he had been carrying and took out a laptop and a CD. A few moments later, the kids as well as Biggs, Alec, and Sasha entered the room.

"I'm sorry that I took an extra day to show this to you guys," Parker apologized as he turned on the laptop. "But Xavier and I wanted to re-encrypt the data with our own codes as a precaution."

"I'm sure that it'll be worth waiting the three days," Zack said.

"Hurry it up, already," Krit complained.

"Patience, young grasshopper," Parker said. He grinned and I groaned to myself. Why does he have to bait Krit like that? "Do you want to wait another couple of days? I'm sure that Xavier and I can fine-tune our encryption."

"Parker, don't tease," Becky said.

Parker looked amused and he gave Becky a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am." Xavier handed him the CD and Parker loaded it into the laptop. He quickly typed in a password at the prompt and smiled once more. "We are in, ladies and gentlemen. Who should we dig up dirt on first?"

"If we're talking about first…" Ben trailed off and grinned wickedly at Zack. "…then I think that we should start with Zack."

"But of course," Parker said. He clicked a few times and grinned. "Here we go. Doesn't Zack look all nice and handsome and ready to kill somebody in his latest mug shot?" We all laughed except for Zack, who was predictably glaring at Parker. "Thank you. You'll be happy to know that your birthday is on September 25th, Zack. We know that…we know that…" All of a sudden, Parker started to laugh hysterically, followed by most of the others who had a good enough angle to see what was on the laptop's screen. "Oh man, I should have known! How obvious was this?"

"How obvious was what?" Zack asked. He was also not sitting at a good angle.

"Nothing," Zane said innocently. He looked at Zack and then at Becky, who was next to Zack, and started laughing again.

Becky looked really annoyed. "If one of you doesn't start explaining what the hell is so funny, I'm going to start ripping some heads off of necks. Am I making myself clear?"

"As crystal," Parker said. He began to read off of Zack's file again. "'Siblings: 330768235405.' Will that do?"

My jaw dropped. Becky was Zack's younger sister? I really should have seen that one coming. There was a physical resemblance, particularly around the eyes, but also how they acted and thought was remarkably similar. It was amazing. I turned to look at Zack and Becky, who were staring at each other and smiling a little. Wow.

"We can look up more dirt on each and every one of us later," Max said. "What I want to know is the stuff about Manticore itself."

"As the lady requested," Parker said. He clicked a few more times until he apparently got to another folder. "How about this one? It's labeled 'projects.'"

"Sounds good to me," Max said. "What's inside?"

"Let's find out," Parker said. He clicked on the folder and looked slightly puzzled. "Huh—'executed/green-lighted' and 'aborted.'"

"I wonder what could have been so screwed up that even Manticore would have said that it was a no-go," Alec wondered.

Parker shrugged. "I don't know, but let's check it out." He clicked and let his breath out before he began to read off folder names. "'Human to X3,' 'Human to X4,' 'Breeding Program'…"

"Breeding program?" Elle repeated slightly nervously.

"That's what it says," Parker said. He clicked open the folder and then clicked again on something else, I guess a file. "'07/29/2012—The possibility of having the older X-series breed with ordinary soldiers was brought up for the second time in the committee meeting, this time with all three facility directors present. While Lt. Colonel Renfro, Seattle facility director, was in full support of the project, Colonel Lydecker, Gillette facility director, argued vehemently against it. Col. Lydecker felt that aside from the fact that half of the X3s, X4s, and X5s would be taken out of active duty for as much as a year or more, that it could potentially be too tricky of a psychological issue to deal with for said X-series females, especially if they are not sedated to the point of unconsciousness while giving birth. After hearing his arguments against the idea, a final vote on green-lighting the project was taken and by a result of 9-4-2, the breeding program project was canceled before implementation.'"

"Whoa," Eva said. "I never thought that I would hear myself saying this, but we actually have something to thank Lydecker for."

"Can you imagine what a mindfuck that would have been?" Sasha said.

"What other nasty things did they change their minds about?" I asked.

"There's plenty of them," Xavier said. "What's this one? 'Human to X5'?"

"I don't know," Parker said. He opened that folder up and I guess opened another file. "'02/11/2017—The serum had officially passed all preliminary tests and was cleared for the first human trials. An army private that had volunteered for this experiment was sedated and the serum was administered to him by I.V. Once the serum was completely in his bloodstream, we continued to monitor the subject and wait for results. While at first the results were promising and the subject's DNA started to accept the X5 DNA from the serum and replace itself accordingly, as with the trials with previous subjects using the X3 and X4 serums, complications arose and the subject went…'" Parker trailed off and I saw some of the others, particularly the kids that had a good view of the laptop screed, get a little bit pale. Parker took a deep breath. "'…and the decision was made to abort the project. This one, like the previous two, is tentatively scheduled to be reviewed for renewal at a later date.'"

"They are sick puppies," Kevin said.

Zack snorted in disgust. "Yeah, no big deal if some private volunteers to have his DNA turned inside out and ends up dying in agony," he said sarcastically. "He was expendable."

"They probably wanted to be able to replace one of us quickly if somebody went down on a mission," Max said.

"Either that or they wanted to be Superman and use it on themselves," Biggs remarked.

"Thank goodness they decided to shelve that idea," I said. I tried to put a smile back on my face. "Enough of this garbage. Let's go back to our stuff."

"Gladly," Parker said. He smiled gratefully at me and went back to the laptop and back to our files. "Whose dirt should I dig up next…Jondy! What do you say?"

"Go ahead," Jondy said. She smirked. "There's nothing that Manticore has on me that you guys don't already know."

"Wanna bet?" Jace said.

Jondy stuck her tongue out at her. "Very funny, Jace. How much do you want to bet that there's something embarrassing about you that Manticore somehow knows about?"

"Hold that thought, Jondy," Parker said, laughing. "Check this out. According to your file, you were born on April Fool's Day of '99."

"Are you kidding me?" Jondy said.

"I told you," Jace said smugly. "I called that one."

"Please don't let me actually have been born on April Fool's Day, too," Reese begged.

"Nope," Parker said after a few moments. "Your birthday is on April tenth."

"Yes!" Reese cheered. "I dodged that bullet."

"I hate you," Jondy said.

"Relax," Parker said. He grinned wickedly and directed his attention at Max. "You and Max can complain to each other. She was born on Halloween."

"Lucky me," Max said. "And since we're on my file now, let me guess…"

"…he's definitely your brother," Parker said, gesturing towards Krit.

"Now there's a surprise," Wayne said, snorting.

"Bite me," Krit said.

"Grow up," I said automatically. I sighed and leaned on Biggs' shoulder. "Lucky me having to deal with those guys, huh?"

"More power to you, babe," Biggs said.

"Yeah," I agreed as Krit and Wayne decided to team up on Zane and went after him mercilessly. I gave Biggs a kiss. "It could be worse."

"Yeah, we could have to watch you guys PDA non-stop," Zane said.

I glared at him. "Very funny."

"Not a problem, big sis," he said cheerfully. I shook my head, but I smiled. Gotta love my younger brothers, huh?

TBC


	38. Chapter 38: Ben X5 493

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 38: Ben (X5-493)**

I frowned as I tightened the screw. I'd gotten randomly assigned to a mechanics class for this particular chunk of time. Nothing like spending a beautiful May afternoon indoors fixing things. Then again, I don't think that it would have been quite as aggravating if we were working on something cool like cars or motorcycles or even military transportation and equipment. Nope, we got assigned to work on a new model of security camera that came onto the market within the last couple of weeks. I sighed, shook my head, and held out left hand in Rena's direction. "Would you do me a favor and hand me that wrench?"

"Not a problem," Rena said. She handed me the wrench that I needed and made a face. "Why did we have to be assigned to this class at this time? I know mechanics, I passed all those classes and tests back in Wyoming years ago with no problem. Okay, it's not the class itself that I've got a vague problem with right now, it's this stupid security camera that we have to put back together. What moron in the factory in Europe that made the stupid thing decided that he or she was in a sadistic mood and made it such a pain-in-the-ass? Even Zane would be complaining about it by now. I know that we have to know how to take apart and rewire these things at a moment's notice while blindfolded and having one hand tied behind our backs, but this is ridiculous." Sometimes you'd think she was the one I'd shared a surrogate mother with, we thought so much alike at times.

"Do you want to try explaining that to him?" I said. I motioned to the trainer who was supervising us and the other X5s in the classroom. The guy had a face that even a mother would have a hard time loving and an even worse attitude. One of the others that was in the class with us had already mouthed off and faster than Max could disarm any of us, the trainer had given the guy a lecture that I'm reasonably sure that they could have heard in China and had sent the X5 to the brig for the rest of the day. I wasn't even sure that either Alec or I could sweet talk this particular trainer. I should ask Alec later if he's ever tried. "I'm pretty sure that he gets a perverted thrill sending one or more of us down to the brig." Rena giggled and I grinned. "I'll bet you anything that if we do say something about how aggravating putting the camera back together is that not only would he send us down there, but he would try to put one of these things together himself and see that we were right." I had a hard time laughing when the mental image of the trainer doing exactly that came to me. I sighed and tightened the screw again and grinned triumphantly. "Finally! I think we almost have it."

"Yeah," Rena agreed. She grabbed another tool and made an adjustment. "That's it!" She picked the camera up and carried it over to the computer terminal at our work station. I hooked up some cables between the camera and the computer and Rena typed in some commands before pausing and then giving me a thumbs-up. "All diagnostics came up good." I nodded and grinned mischievously but before I could do what I had planned on doing, the trainer approached us and Rena and I quickly straightened to attention.

"Well?" he said impatiently. He stepped around us to get a look at the monitor and raised an eyebrow. "It looks like the two of you are the first pair to complete the assignment. Well done."

Rena glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. "That couldn't have sounded more dragged out of him even if Renfro had been interrogating him," she muttered under her breath. We stayed at attention even when the trainer went to the door to talk to the guards that had just arrived. After leaving the room for a few minutes, the guy returned and motioned to Rena and me. We gave each other puzzled looks. We had no idea what the heck was going on since the trainer had spoken to the guards out of our hearing range.

"You're needed at the brig on guard duty until dinner," he said. "You'll be excused from your planned activities." Rena and I saluted him and headed out of the classroom and down to the brig. When we got there, we checked in with the soldier in charge and he led us over to a large cell. I looked inside and managed to keep the surprise off of my face when I saw that Krit, Zane, and Parker occupied it and all three of them looked like they'd had the crap beaten out of them. As soon as the soldier left us to keep an eye on our brothers, I leaned against the wall and grinned. You can damn well bet that I'm gonna have some fun with this assignment. Who wouldn't?

"My, my, my," I drawled. "Look what the cat dragged in. What did you guys do?"

Zane glared at me with his right eye. His left eye was in the process of swelling shut. "Nothing and for the love of Lydecker, stop enjoying this so much."

"Oh, come on," Rena said. "Either you're probably going to tell us anyway at some point or we're going to find out what had happened from somebody else." She smiled sweetly. "Who do you think we would rather find out the situation from, hmmm?"

"Oh, fine," Krit snapped irritably. "It was a heat fight."

"It must have been a pretty good one," I remarked. "How bad was it? Helo Three? Maybe Helo Two?" Helo was the Manticore code for a heat fight or situation. The lower the number, the crazier the fight.

Parker sighed. "Helo One."

"You're shitting me," Rena said. Her jaw, along with mine, had hit the floor. "How the hell could it have gotten up to that level?"

"Well, it's easy when four X5 women are in heat and there are about twelve X5 men around who are being driven nuts," Zane said dryly. "I guess that you could say that the thirty-eight mixed X-series women that got called over helped get things under control somewhat."

"Everything must have really been aligned up there if four people went into heat at close to the same time," I said. "If it was that bad, I'm surprised that you guys are the only ones here in the brig." I looked around the hallway. "Are you guys the only ones that got tossed in here?"

"We were the only ones that got thrown in here, but we sure as hell weren't the only ones punished," Parker said. "Eight of the other guys involved got thrown into solitary because they were even more combative when they were being restrained and some of the girls that had been called in to help tried to restrain them, they hurt them badly enough for them to take at least a couple of hours-long trip to the infirmary. The other guy actually got Psy Ops for two days because he kicked the shit out of a trainer pretty badly." He blushed a little and I snorted. That was the look Parker got whenever Rena or Max or one of the other girls in the family would kick his ass. "Max, Becky, Jace, Jondy, Gale, and Layla took it upon themselves to keep us from doing something really stupid. That was sweet of them, don't you think?" He pointed to the stitched up gash on his forehead. "Becky gave me that and Layla stitched it up."

Zane pointed to his black eye. "One of Max's special right hooks."

"I guess she hasn't lost her touch," Rena remarked.

"Hey, what about Syl?" I asked. "Why didn't she…" I trailed off when I noticed how the other three, Krit in particular, got uncomfortable when I'd mentioned Syl's name. This just keeps getting weirder and weirder. I looked my youngest brother in the eye. "Syl was one of the ones in heat…and you were the one that she jumped."

"I wish that was all," Krit said, which caused the rest of us to exchange worried looks. Something was really up here. I don't think that I've ever heard Krit sound that miserable before.

"Krit, tell us what happened," Rena suggested gently.

"Sure, might as well," Krit said. He took a deep breath. "I know how you and the others have been cracking on me and Syl about us having real feelings for each other for years now and I came to the conclusion that you guys were right and I really did have feelings for her. I love her, I really do. Anyway, when we got paired up in this exercise, I thought 'here's the perfect time to tell her how I feel' and that's exactly what I did. She looked surprised as hell at first and then she said that she loved me too and then we kissed. It was almost too good to be true. I'd never reacted like that when I'd kissed a woman before. I probably should have known then that she was going into heat, but I just thought that it was because of how I felt about her and maybe it was, at least in part. Then she pulled me in for another kiss and that's when I realized that she was in heat and I honestly didn't give a shit about that or anything at that point and then I felt somebody yank me away from her and that's when things started to get crazy, at least that I was aware of." He sighed dejectedly. "The worst part about this whole thing is not that I got in trouble for letting Syl try to jump me because she was in heat or getting in trouble for trying to fight a couple of other guys for her, but I have no idea if what she said to me was how she really felt or just her hormones talking. What am I going to do, you guys?"

"Just do what you can," I said. "Take a mulligan on this one, baby brother. Wait until you get out of here and until Syl gets out of isolation and then try again to find a good time to tell her about how you feel. It's going to work out for you, Krit. I promise."

Krit nodded and seemed to get himself back under control. "You're right, Ben. Thanks."

"Why don't you do something special?" Rena suggested.

Parker groaned. "The last time that you used that word in some sort of reference to Syl, you ended up with kitchen duty for two weeks and I still have no idea how you managed to sneak those rubber snakes into our old place in Wyoming when you got back from that mission. Those things were big enough for even those guards to catch when they made a vague attempt at checking us for contraband."

"It's a good thing that those guys were stupid as hell, wasn't it?" Rena retorted. She stuck her tongue out at Zane. "I wasn't suggesting anything like that, you moron. I was thinking along the lines of something romantic. Walking underneath the stars, that kind of thing."

"Technically, we do that every night," Zane quipped. "Even when we're indoors." Rena looked around carefully before she walked up to the cell, reached between the bars, grabbed Zane, and yanked him forward until his face crashed against the bars somewhat painfully. "That was not necessary, Rena." He rubbed his forehead.

"I think it was," Krit said, snickering. He smiled. "That is a good idea, Rena. I think that I can come up with something."

"Good luck," I said.

"Thanks," Krit said.

"Anytime," I replied. I wished like hell that it would work out for him.

TBC


	39. Chapter 39: Krit X5 157

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 39: Krit (X5-157)**

Okay, today's the day that Syl's heat is over and she gets sprung from Isolation. Should I wait another day or two before asking her how she really feels about me or should I just do it right here, right now? Seriously, this is driving me up the wall. I'm honestly scared here.

"Everything's going to work out," Ben said from where he sat next to me at the table in the cafeteria. He gave me a smile before he turned his attention back to his breakfast.

"Sure," I said. I forced down a spoonful of my oatmeal. "It's going to be great."

"Stop trying to convince yourself and actually believe it," Kenny said. He turned around to look across the cafeteria to where Sasha was sitting with Alec, Biggs, and their unit and gave her a big smile before he turned back to me. "It'll be fine. I'd never thought that I would hear myself saying this, but listen to Ben." Ben flipped him off and he laughed.

"Considering how big of a miserable bastard you were before we came here back in March because of how badly you were missing Sasha, you've got room to talk." Brin sounded more amused than annoyed.

Kenny looked smug. "That's exactly why, baby sis. Things worked out and so far so good and God willing, they'll continue that way."

I nodded and looked over towards the cafeteria door. I saw two of the other girls who had gone into heat that afternoon enter the cafeteria and made a face. "Great, they get to get sprung early enough to make breakfast. Would it have been too much effort for them to have released Syl as well? Apparently so…"

"Re…freaking…lax," Rena said slowly. "She'll get here when she gets here." She looked up and I followed her gaze to where Syl was coming through the cafeteria door and I felt a mix of relief and nerves when I met Syl's eyes. "You see, Krit? There she is."

"I know," I said. I swallowed nervously and focused intensely on my oatmeal when Syl sat down in her usual place next to me. Wow, Krit, could you act any more like a five-year-old?

"Hey, everybody," Syl said. I glanced up at her and I saw that she looked pretty embarrassed. "I'm sorry about causing that mess the other day."

"No harm, no foul," Max said. "Besides, you weren't the only one responsible for that whole dealio."

"Um, no harm?" Parker said. He pointed to the now barely visible scar on his forehead. Becky looked up from where she was discussing something with Karen, shook her head, and turned back to her conversation.

"He does have a point," Zane said. I couldn't help smiling. Good old Zane. I knew that I could count on him or Wayne at least to liven up this discussion. "From what we saw before they threw Krit and Parker and I into the brig and from what we heard through the grapevine afterwards, the infirmary had one of its all-time busiest days. I heard that one of the guys that Krit was fighting to keep away from Syl had to be kept overnight there before he got thrown in solitary because of a concussion and another had at least two broken bones."

"Really?" I said, grinning. I hadn't heard that before and I felt damn proud. I glanced out of the corner of my eye and I saw Syl trying to restrain a smile, but I knew that look in her eyes and I couldn't help feeling hopeful. "Damn, I'm good."

"And damn lucky that you didn't get thrown into solitary confinement because of the damage that you caused," Zack said pointedly.

Killjoy. "I know," I said.

"Everybody's still talking about that melee," Reese said. "I know that we never had an actual Helo One go down back in Wyoming in our whole lives and Alec and Biggs told me that there apparently had been another one happen here in Seattle, but it was years ago back when the X3s and X4s were starting to hit puberty and going into heat for the first time." He gave me, Zane, and Parker a quick salute. "Kudos."

"Don't congratulate them," Jace said.

"I'm all up for anything that would liven things up here, myself," Ben remarked.

"I think that it's official: the men in this family born in 1996 and later are hopeless," Gale said.

"And the other one is a hopeless—" Max was sitting closer to Wayne than Zack, so she was the one to smack Wayne across the back of his head. "It's sweet the way that you're so willing to defend your boyfriend. It really is." I saw the look in Wayne's eyes and suddenly, I knew where he was going to continue with that line of thought. Not knowing whether to hug or slaughter my brother, I quickly turned to Syl.

"So, Syl…" I kept my voice low enough so that it would be incredibly difficult to be able to understand what I was saying at the absolute best. "…about what happened the other day about what I said before the heat fight broke out. I—do you really feel that way about me? I—I really, really hope that it wasn't just your hormones talking and I know that I must sound like a complete moron, but I want to know. I'm going nuts wondering about it."

Syl blushed, but she leaned forward and she smiled. "I thought about it some more myself when my head cleared up before they cut me loose a little while ago." She leaned even closer to me and I could have sworn that my heart was about to explode. "My hormones were not doing the talking for me, Krit. That's how I really feel about you." Her lips brushed over mine for the barest second, quick enough not to arouse suspicion from any of other transgenics or guards, but I could feel where those soft lips of hers had been long after she had broken that kiss. I looked at her and I didn't think there was enough room on my face for the smile that was there.

"Oooooh, Krit and Syl, sitting in a tree…" Zane, Wayne, Kenny, Ben, Parker, and Jack started to sing. I cut them off by chucking a roll in their direction before sneaking another quick kiss with Syl and exchanging grins with her.

"Considering that two of you actually have girls of your own…" Eva shook her head. "Gale was right. You are hopeless."

"And proud of it," Ben said cheerfully. I laughed and couldn't help getting another sneaky kiss in with Syl. Yep, call me hopeless. Hopeless how they were thinking of it, hopelessly in love…it all works.

TBC


	40. Chapter 40: Elle X5 164

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

About five months later…

**Chapter 40: Elle (X5-164)**

I was bored. I looked around, saw only what had been there two seconds ago, shrugged, and started to stretch out. We were scheduled to run an exercise with, of all people, Alec's unit, though Alec himself wouldn't be here. Neither would Biggs, for that matter. The two of them plus Jeff had been deployed to Alaska a few days ago to take out a small naval base. Anyway, we had beaten the other unit out to the yard where we would be meeting the trainer so we were more or less twiddling our thumbs.

"I hope they get out here soon," I said.

"It's chilly out here," Gale complained. She shivered a little. "I hate cold weather."

"You grew up in Wyoming where there would be snow on the ground at this time of the year and yet you're still complaining?" Parker said incredulously. "Compared to where we used to live, this is almost like a tropical paradise."

"Tinga's out on a solo mission so that means that it's my duty to tell all of you to behave yourselves," Max said. "Shut up or get smacked down."

"Did Tinga tell you to say that as well?" Wayne teased. Max rolled her eyes, walked over to Wayne, reached up, and slapped him upside the head. "Okay, okay, okay. I get the point."

"It's good to know that you all will be in good hands when I leave for my mission next week," Zack said dryly.

"Ooooh, were you insulting your girlfriend?" Reese teased. Time to point out how differently Max and Zack handle an annoying brother. Where Max would have slapped him upside the head like she'd done with Wayne, Zack simply glared at Reese. Trust me, a glare from Zack is more than enough to get the job done. Reese's eyes went wide and he turned around to talk with Ben and Kenny.

"Reese's brain seems to be stuck on stupid again," I remarked.

"When is Reese's brain ever not stuck on stupid?" Eva pointed out.

"Probably when it's stuck on complete moron," Jondy agreed.

Reese stuck his tongue out at us. "Thank you so much for your opinion of my mental state, girls. It's just what I needed."

"You're welcome," I said. "Would you like for us to tell you what we think about your maturity level as well?"

Kenny snickered. "This I definitely want to hear." He looked over and grinned when he saw Sasha leading her unit out to us. "Hey, there. Glad that you could join us."

"Yeah, lovely," 786 said sarcastically from her place in her unit's line directly behind Sasha. Her opinion of the guys in our family and just our family in general had not improved to say the least since Max had decked the living hell out of her when she'd tried to proposition Zack shortly after we'd arrived in Seattle about seven months ago. "Is there anything else that we could do to make your lives brighter?"

"I could name quite a few things," Sasha said sweetly. "How about shutting your skank mouth for once?" She smirked when she saw 786 make a face and then go off to talk with 908 and 714 in their own little group. "I don't know about the rest of you, but that just made my life a little bit brighter."

"Mine too," Rena agreed. We all suddenly shut up and formed two lines when we saw three trainers approach us. Two of them stopped a few yards away and the third continued along until he was standing in front of us.

"Nice to see you lined up properly for me," he snapped. "The purpose of today's exercise is to reinforce your abilities to work in small groups. You will be split up into groups of four and each group will be given their own objective. You will be receiving these objectives after the groups have been set. Each group will be working completely independently of the others." He took a piece of paper out of one of his pockets and unfolded it. "Group One will be led by X5-205 and joining him will be X5-532, X5-552, and X5-619. Group Two will be led by X5-599 and joining him will be X5-295, X5-369, and X5-967. Group Three will be led by X5-452 and joining her will be X5-120, X5-164, and X5-714. Group Four will be led by…" The guy continued to drone on with the other groups and then with our objectives, but I was glancing behind me to glare at X5-714, who was glaring right back at me. Bitch.

Maybe I should explain a few things here. Of all of the members of that unit with the obvious exception of Alec, Biggs, and Sasha, I get along with 714 the least. Jack once described 714 as being the 'dark side' version of me. Okay, this was after he'd come back from a mission where at one point during his off hours he'd seen one of the Star Wars movies, but I definitely see where he was coming from. Heck, most of the rest of my siblings starting calling her 'Evil Elle' behind her back from that point on. Here's some 411 on me. I'm absolutely willing to admit to being at least something of a girly-girl. I might kick as much ass and enjoy physical exercise as the next X5, I'm pretty sure the scientists managed to write that into our odd DNA somehow, but I love putting on makeup and fixing my hair and dressing up when on missions and all sorts of things of that nature. While Jace would easily be characterized as a tomboy, or at least she had been like that until she hit her late teens, I was—and still am—close to the opposite. 714, on the other hand, crossed the line from 'girly' to 'priss.' Hell, the woman's got one foot in 'priss' and the other foot in 'bitch from hell.' I can't stand her at all.

"All right, girls, let's get together," Max said, motioning to myself, Rena, and 714. We followed her over to the edge of the woods. "Everybody's got all of their gear on them, right?" I double-checked to make sure that I had all of it before I nodded. I saw 714 smirk at me and I tried really hard not to slap her. Luckily for me, and probably at least for Rena's entertainment as well, the look on 714's face didn't get past Max. "Is something amusing you, 714?"

"Negative, ma'am," 714 said quickly.

"Then focus," Max said. "Everybody, move out." We followed her into the woods until we reached a fallen tree several yards away from our starting point. Max gestured us to hold while she took out the map that she'd received from one of the trainers. "Our objective is another hundred yards out. It's going to be incredibly heavily guarded. We need to expect at least several booby traps."

Rena frowned. "What about transgenic guards? Obviously not any of the people involved with this exercise that we know of, but it's definitely not unheard of for the trainers to pull some other X-series to have them act as guards for this kind of thing."

"I'd have to go with you on that one," Max said. "Keep that possibility in all of your minds as well." She looked intently at the map for another few moments. "Okay, here's how we're going to start this. We'll move ahead to this point right here. 120, once we reach that spot and scan the area, pick a tree and go up top to get us a better look and to take out any hostiles should there be any of them. After we confirm that the threat level is down to nothing, we move forward to our designated area and disarm any traps surrounding our objective. The trainer said that it's buried a couple of feet underneath the ground, so we're going to have to dig—"

"Dig?" 714 wrinkled her nose. "With our hands? Are you crazy, 452?"

"Yes, we're going to have to use our hands," I said coolly. "Just like 452 said. Unless you happen to have some kind of shovel in your backpack with the rest of your gear, that's the best option that we have."

"Can it, 164," Max said, though I could tell when our eyes met that she was thinking the same things that I was. "164 is right, 714, and so am I. If you have a problem with my orders, deal with it. This is what we are going to do and you are not going to say another word about it. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," 714 said sullenly. When she saw Max put the map away and thought that Max was occupied, she turned to me and gave me a nasty look. "You are such a nasty little suck-up, 164. How about you go do me a favor and play with some X7s, huh?"

"I would rather spend time with X7s than with you. At least they know when to keep their mouths shut," I hissed. "Unlike you, you spoiled little—"

"Shut it now," Max ordered. She glared at me. "164, start behaving like the grown woman that you are right this instant."

I nodded. Max was right, I shouldn't have let 714 bait me like that. "Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry."

"Good," Max said. She turned to 714. "As for you, 714, if you even think about opening your mouth again for something other than offering advice that will help our mission, I'm going to have to explain to 494 when he returns from his assignment why your head can be found in the West woods and the rest of you can be found in the East woods. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," 714 said.

"Glad that's settled," Max said. She stood up and the rest of us did as well. "714, you can take point. Move out." We moved forward. I fell back behind Max and next to Rena.

"I…can't…stand…the bitch," I said to Rena quietly enough for 714 not to be able to hear me.

"You and me both," Rena said. "I'll make you a deal. If you can get through this exercise without throttling 714, I'll sneak you some of that ginger beer soda that you like when I go out on my next mission whenever that may be."

"Deal," I said. We exchanged grins and a quiet high five before we moved on through the forest.

TBC


	41. Chapter 41: Eva X5 766

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

About two months later…

**Chapter 41: Eva (X5-766)**

I just managed to jump out of the way of another X-series as I made my way through the halls on my way back to my cell. I swear, sometimes it seems so busy in here I feel like I'm in the middle of Grand Central Station out in New York City. It's kind of nice, though. Something about the sound of only one or two pairs of footsteps echoing in an empty hallway creeps me out.

"If it isn't our favorite blonde sister." I looked over to see Rena and Ben standing at an intersection of two hallways, both of them waving cheerfully at me. I grinned and went over to them.

"Don't let Syl hear you say that one," I teased Rena. "She'll take any excuse to kick your ass."

"Actually, it's try to kick my ass," Rena said. She shrugged. "If she wants to bring it on, she knows where to find me." The three of us started to walk off in the direction of our block. "I'm happy that I've got a chunk of free time before lunch. I really want to go over some things for that computer session that I've got after we eat. I hate computers, but I do have to keep in practice."

"I feel your pain," I said. "That's how I feel about hand-to-hand combat. There are few things that I look forward to less than getting thrown around like a rag doll by Zack or Zane for the eighty billionth time." I rolled my eyes. "It gets even more fun when we get that trainer who not only yells at us constantly just like all of the other but is also a chauvinist and thinks that we can't do squat just because we have two X chromosomes."

"Those are usually the days when Max has a great day in that class and beats everybody, including Zack," Ben observed.

"Oh yeah," Rena said. "I remember that the last time that we had Captain Swine for Martial Arts here at this place, he was being especially condescending and Max finally lost it and mouthed off to him a little and he decided to try to punish her by making her participate in a three-on-one against Zane, Jack, and Reese." She snickered. "I don't quite think that he was expecting Max to win, but that's our Maxie for you."

"Tell us something that we don't know," Ben quipped. I laughed and Rena punched Ben in the shoulder. "Speaking of things that we don't know, I had a pretty interesting talk with Biggs the other day. He was doing some reading, one of those psych books or journals again, and he came across an article on identical twins and how one twin is the dominating one or some psycho-babble like that. He was cool enough to spare me the psych talk and translate it."

"That sounds interesting," I said. "What do you mean, dominating twin?"

"One twin is stronger than the other," Ben said, shrugging. "Not necessarily physically, though I guess that could happen as well. I mean mentally stronger, maybe does a little bit better than the other in school, that kind of thing. Biggs was talking about his observations of Alec, me, Rena, and Sasha and he thinks that between Alec and me, Alec's the dominant twin."

"How did he come up with that one?" Rena asked. "By your ranks?"

"Maybe a little bit," Ben said. "But also other things, subtle things that somebody like Biggs would pick up on. You'll get a kick out of this one, Rena. He also told me that between yourself and Sasha, he believes that you are the dominant twin."

"Well, I'll be dipped," Rena said. "He must have been a psychiatrist in a previous life." She smirked. "Couldn't have been Freud because he doesn't have an unhealthy fixation with test tubes that we know of."

I laughed. "That would be something else. I wonder what Tinga would think if that were the case."

"Tinga either wouldn't care or she'd be really patient about it," Ben said. "You know how she is." We exited the building to the central courtyard and started to cross it to get back to C Wing. "That reminds me. Have either of you heard anything about when Alec's getting back from that mission of his?"

"No," I said. "The best that I can tell you is to ask Biggs or Sasha because if anybody knows or will be told anything about that mission, it'll be the two of them. It's only been just over a month since Alec left."

"I know that," Ben said. "But you remember what he told us when he'd been given that assignment. It could run a week or it could run for a year. The timetable was listed as open-ended when he got his specs." He sighed. "I miss having him around."

"A good bunch of us aren't around," Rena said, shaking her head. "Zack's not scheduled to return from France until right before New Year's. Becky's out somewhere in the middle of freezing cold Russia and Jeff's away in Bulgaria. Kenny's down in Texas, Reese is out in Louisiana, Elle is deployed in Halifax, Jace is away in Pennsylvania, Parker is somewhere in the Amazon, and even Suzanne, Brent, Layla, Xavier, and Sandy are away on a mission in Nevada." She laughed. "And since both Becky and Jeff aren't here, that means that Kevin and Wes are in charge of their unit until Jeff gets finished in Bulgaria since he's scheduled to be finished with his mission before Becky's done with her's."

"That's not good," I remarked.

"Not good how?" Ben wondered.

I smiled sweetly. "It would be the equivalent of like having Zane and Krit in charge of us for whatever reason. Or Krit and Wayne. Or yourself and Kenny. Pick whichever combo you like."

"My, my, my," Ben drawled. "Somebody's awfully bitchy today."

"You bring it out in me, Ben," I informed him. "Every single time."

"That's enough, Eva," Rena said. "I just wish that I could get sent out on a mission somewhere. It seems like forever since the last time that I was deployed."

Ben nodded in agreement. "I hear ya, Rena. I haven't been sent out in months. We both should be due to be tacked onto the next or one of the next assignments that they cook up." He stretched his arms. "I'm hoping that my next mission is going to be something that's straight military. I'm getting bored with infiltration assignments. I know that I'm good at them, but I need some variety."

"And variety is the spice of life," I said. Rena and Ben both laughed.

"If variety is the spice of life, then we must be the equivalent of a five-alarm chili," Rena remarked. We laughed again as we turned the corner and to our block. We paused near Zack's cell. "I hope that I didn't just jinx us for lunch."

"Why would you think that?" Ben teased. "The only way I think you possibly could have jinxed us for lunch is if Alec had been forced to make that chili that he told me that he had made when he was sixteen and since he's away, that's impossible."

"Oh?" Rena raised an eyebrow. "What about the possibility of Brin cooking?"

I winced. "I don't think that they would want to kill all of us."

"Hey, if getting through those swamp training exercises with Unit 1 six or so years ago didn't kill us, then I'd say that the chances of Brin's cooking taking us out are pretty damn low," Ben said cheerfully. "I don't know about either of you, but I'm kind of surprised that none of us murdered that annoying chatterbox 699 while he slept in his tent. Sandy might talk and ask questions all of the time, but he was smart enough to learn how not to be annoying. 699 deserved those lizards that our brothers minus Zack and plus me found and slipped into his sleeping bag. I can't believe that he didn't realize that they were there until right as he was about to drift off." He smiled happily at the memory. "That was a heck of a good time."

"I don't think that 699 would be of the same opinion of the incident as you and the others share," I teased.

"Maybe," Ben conceded. "What about—" He stopped talking when the three of us heard several pairs of footsteps, none of which sounded like any of our friends or family members, heading towards us. The three guards appeared in front of us a few moments later and we straightened to attention. "Can we help you, sirs?"

"Yes," one of the guards said. "You are to come with us immediately, X5-493."

Ben frowned. "Permission to speak, sir?"

"Denied," the guard snapped. The two guards behind him held out tasers and I had to work hard to suppress a gasp. "Come with us _immediately_, 493. No resistance or we'll have to do this the hard way." Ben reluctantly nodded and barely managed to restrain a yell of surprise when the other two guards grabbed him roughly and dragged him away. One of the guards even slapped Ben hard even though Ben wasn't putting up any resistance at all.

"Sir, may I inquire what is going on?" Rena asked. Her face, just like mine, appeared to be perfectly blank, but I could read her eyes and they were even more troubled than mine.

"No, you may not," the guard said coldly. Without another word, he turned around and marched off in the direction that the two other guards had taken Ben in. Rena and I watched silently for several moments until we were pretty sure that we were out of even Ben's hearing range. Rena began to shake and tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down.

"What's going on, Eva?" she asked. "What the hell was that about? Ben hasn't done anything! He might have played a few jokes in the last couple of weeks, but nothing that should have gotten around to the guards hearing about it and he damn well hasn't done anything that warrants the treatment that he just got! What the flying fuck is going on?"

I took a deep breath of my own, reached up, and put my hands on Rena's shoulders to make her face me. "We're going to take things one at a time. The first thing that we're going to do is find Max because she'd be the most likely person who'd know or be able to find out about the reason behind Ben being taken like that. If Max doesn't know, then we'll have to figure out something. Calm down, Rena. Don't worry." I put a smile on my face for both of our sakes. "If there's anybody that can find out anything, it's Maxie. We're definitely going to get to the bottom of this one way or another. You can count on it."

"Good point," Rena admitted. She straightened her shoulders. "Come on. Let's go find Max." We walked back in the direction that the two of us and Ben had come from earlier. We had information to uncover.

TBC

Notes: There really is such a thing as a dominant twin within a set of identical twins. I was reading an article in a copy (I forget the exact date of the issue) of Reader's Digest that my parents had left lying around the house and it mentioned this and the idea got stuck in my head for awhile. It seemed like pretty good food for thought. :)


	42. Chapter 42: Jondy X5 210

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Spoilers/spoiler-ish stuff for "The Berrisford Agenda."

**Chapter 42: Jondy (X5-210)**

At exactly midnight, I slipped out of my cell and joined Max at the head of the hallway. We exchanged grim looks as we stood and waited for Rena to meet up with us. Neither of us had heard any kind of reason as to why Ben had been taken away earlier, much less why he had been treated the way that Rena and Eva had told us that he had been treated. Max hadn't even been told anything, and she's the acting squad commanding officer. If any transgenic should have been told something, it would have been Maxie. We'd even asked Biggs and Sasha if they'd heard anything and neither of them had gotten wind of anything. What do you do when you can't find something out by word of mouth? You try to find it out for yourselves. We were determined as hell to uncover the information that we wanted.

"Is Eva coming with us?" I asked.

Max shook her head. "No, she's not. When I talked to her just before lights out, she said that she really wanted to go with us to get this 411 but she'd really gone through the wringer in that physical activities session that she'd had in the gym this evening and she was absolutely wiped as a result of that so I told her to just crash tonight and that we'd fill her in when we let everybody else know." Max frowned. "Rena's still joining us, though. Right?"

"Right. She knows that…" I trailed off when I saw Rena leaving her cell out of the corner of my eye. As soon as she reached us, Max made a gesture and we headed off. "I wish that Parker wasn't out on a mission. We might have to do some hacking to find out what we want."

"You and me both," Max said. "We're going to have to make do without him." She paused for a moment and I smiled sympathetically, knowing what she was thinking. I knew that Max missed the hell out of Zack and how badly she was looking forward to him returning in a few weeks.

"You're even better at this sneaking around at night stuff than Zack is," Rena said teasingly, though her eyes still look somewhat haunted. I really felt bad for her. I'd known that she and Ben had gotten much closer to each other since we had originally met up and then were separated again from Alec and Sasha, but now I've got a feeling that they had gotten closer to each other than either of them had realized and that Rena was just starting to figure it out. It made me feel lucky as hell to have Jack, that was for sure.

"Should we be bringing along anybody else or should we keep this little mission to the three of us since Eva's not with us?" I asked.

Max looked thoughtful. "I'd love to bring in a few of the others, but it would look just a little too suspicious if a whole big group of X5s were caught sneaking around to places that are usually restricted after lights out. We're going to have to keep it to just you, me, and Rena."

"On that note, what's going to be our first stop?" Rena asked.

"I think our first stop is going to be one of the unrestricted computer labs," Max said. "As much as it goes against my nature to say this, we shouldn't try any of the riskier places to get the intel just yet." She smirked. "And yes, I'm probably going to be wishing that Parker were here myself in just a couple of minutes while I'm going through this crap." That got giggles from myself and Rena, though we kept it quiet enough for only the three of us to hear them as we continued through the building. We had almost reached the computer lab we wanted when I spotted a vaguely familiar silhouette. It spotted us at the same time and approached us.

"Hey, there!" It was P2-400, the Psy Ops soldier that went with us on the Poland mission almost two years ago. She was pretty cool. I've actually spoken with her once or twice since we first moved here to Seattle.

"What's up, 400?" Max asked.

"Just needed to clear my head," 400 replied. Her voice sounded on the surface to be as cheerful as it normally was, but I could tell that there was something bothering her and that it was major. "I've had one heck of a long day."

"You and us both," Rena said. "One of our unit mates was taken away this afternoon and we weren't given a reason. Not only was he taken away without any explanation, but they grabbed him as if he'd done something that rated a ten on the one-to-ten scale of bad things to do."

400 looked really troubled and I got a really bad feeling. She looked around before she motioned us into the computer lab. Nobody else was there, so we sat down on the floor facing each other. "This can't get out, not yet. You and 511 aren't supposed to be notified about this until sometime tomorrow."

"Myself and B—511?" Max said. She frowned. "Why?"

"You're absolutely right, 493 did nothing to be brought to Psy Ops," 400 said. I'm glad that she—what! Ben was taken to Psy Ops? "Neither did 494."

Max, Rena, and I exchanged a look. Alec had gotten sent to Psy Ops as well? "494 is also is Psy Ops?" I said slowly. "Did something go wrong with his mission?"

400 nodded, looking close to tears. "It did. He was brought to me this afternoon under sedation and I had to do the initial investigation." She told us what had happened to Alec and I was shocked to say the least. Poor Alec! That poor girl that he had fallen for while he was out. What else was Alec supposed to do, huh? He was only trying to do the right thing. God, I absolutely hate it when Manticore and us have different versions of what the right thing to do is.

"Why did they have to jump the gun like that?" Max said quietly but venomously. She shook her head. "Alec would have been able to talk his way out of it or figure out some kind of solution with the brass being none the wiser. He's always been able to do that before. Poor Alec." She clenched her fists. "That still doesn't explain why they took Ben to Psy Ops as well. Ben did as much of anything as his brother."

"This is Manticore," I said. "And this does sound like the kind of message that they like to get across from time to time. Besides, it's not as if they need an excuse to do shit like that."

Rena snorted. "Great. I guess that means that if Sasha or I ever fuck up, they'll toss the other one of us into the brig or solitary or Psy Ops too. Fucking sadists."

"Noted," Max agreed. She looked back at 400 and I noticed how upset the Psy Ops soldier looked and I couldn't help feeling bad for her. Max caught it too and when she spoke, the venom had disappeared from her voice. "Are you going to be okay, 400?"

"Eventually, I guess," 400 said. "I don't get it, 452. I've been asked to do so many different things while I was training my telecoercion skills, when I've used them in Psy Ops, and during field interrogations on missions. You guys remember when I interrogated the enemy soldier that we captured before we left Poland, right? You saw what I had to do to him."

"Oh yeah," I said. I remembered exactly what 400 had done to him. The evening after we'd returned from rescuing Jeff and Christian, we'd brought the enemy transgenic that we'd captured out from under the drugs that Wayne had given him earlier, made sure that he was properly restrained, and then 400 had gone to work on him. It was not pretty. 400 ended up having to do a real number on him, but she didn't blink an eyelash about it and neither did we. We'd known exactly what they had done and what they had planned to do and it seemed only fair. Hell, compared to what they had done, what 400 did to the prisoner was small potatoes.

"This is so different," 400 continued. "This feels so wrong. That felt right, other things have felt right, other things have felt questionable to me, but this just feels absolutely wrong. I did what I could to buffer both 494 and 493 from what could have been done to them, but I still feel so horrible." She actually did start to cry and I felt surprised. Even though I knew 400 at least a little bit, I never thought a Psy Ops soldier would actually have a conscience. From the little interaction I've had with other Psy Ops soldiers and from the rumors that I've heard, they care even less about right and wrong than what Manticore thinks an X-series is supposed to. Then again, look at us.

"You're only human, 400," Rena said softly. "And we appreciate what you have done so far for them. We can't thank you enough."

"I want to do more for them," 400 confessed. She frowned. "I overheard some of the doctors and guards talking. They want to keep 494 in Psy Ops for six months. They didn't say anything specific about how long they wanted to keep 493 in there for, but it would be for at least a few months though not for as long as 494. I'll see what I can do about getting them to shorten the length of their stays. I wish that I could convince them to kick them loose immediately, but that will look way too suspicious."

"No doubt," Max agreed. "What do you think will be the best that you can do?"

400 thought about it for a few moments. "The best that I can do without suspicion is to get them to cut it to a few weeks for 493, but I won't be able to get 494 sprung for at least three months. Director Renfro is that angry about what had happened."

"Ouch," I said, wincing. There are few things scarier in life than Director Renfro when she's mad. I've been lucky enough so far that I haven't had her wrath directed at me, but I've passed by her office when she's screaming at some poor guy for one reason or another and she frightens me more than Lydecker ever did.

"Alec's still going to be a mess when he gets out," Rena said. Her voice hardened. "Both him and Ben are going to be freaked out when they finally get sprung." She took a deep breath. "It's not that I'm ungrateful to you for taking this big of a risk, 400, I'm just upset over this whole situation in general." And you've fallen for Ben, big sis.

"I understand," 400 said. "Why did you just refer to 494 and 493 as Alec and Ben? I'm assuming that's who you were talking about."

Whoops. "Do you promise not to tell anybody?" Max warned.

"Sure," 400 said. She nodded. "Of course."

"We named each other," Max said. "It started with my unit back in Wyoming, and then the X6 unit that we were on the mission with named each other after we were paired in the old mentoring program years ago, and then Alec, Biggs, and Sasha named themselves when we were out on the Poland mission. Biggs and Sasha are 511 and 121."

"That's nice," 400 said. "I don't see what the harm is in having a name. Ordinary soldiers have names too, don't they?" The four of us stood up. "Thank you for letting me vent."

"No problem," I said. "Thank you so much for giving us the 411 on what was happening with Ben and Alec. We'll try to let Biggs and Sasha know as soon as possible." I saw 400 nod and I smiled. "Hey, do you want a name, 400?"

"I'd love one," 400 said. "Let's see…what should I go with?" She looked deep in thought for a few moments before she smiled. "You guys can call me Mia."

"I like it," Rena said. "It's a cute name. I think that it fits you. I'm Rena."

"I'm Max and she's Jondy," Max said, pointing to me. "We'll properly introduce you to the rest of the crew later."

"Great," Mia said. "And thank you again."

"You're welcome," I said. We exchanged good-byes before we left the computer lab. Mia headed off in one direction while Max, Rena, and I headed back in the direction of our block. I sighed. "Now comes the harder part: telling everybody the reason why this all went down."

"Oh yeah," Max said. "God, Zack's not going to be happy when he hears about this. I just hope that I can calm him down enough to keep him from beating the hell out of somebody. Not that I'm sure whoever he would want to beat up wouldn't deserve it, but still." She looked over at Rena, who looked as if she was going to cry. "It's going to be okay, Rena. It really will."

"But how much hell will they have to go through before it'll be okay?" she asked.

"Hopefully, not as much as they could," I said. Please let Ben and Alec get through this okay…

TBC


	43. Chapter 43: Jack X5 417

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 43: Jack (X5-417)**

Silence was a pretty good word to use to describe us all day. Ever since Max, Jondy, and Rena woke us up a few hours before we were supposed to be up to tell us why Ben—and Alec as well as it had turned out—had been taken away, nobody had really said anything. What could we say? Alec hadn't really failed his mission. I knew him well enough to agree with Jondy's point-of-view of what had and what could have happened. What did Ben do other than be genetically identical to Alec? This was absolutely ridiculous. The only good thing that I could say was that Mia would be bailing them out as much as she could.

Max and I walked into our Advanced Weaponry class. Last class before dinner and then only one more after it, thank goodness. I couldn't wait to get back to my cell and try to mentally digest all the crap that's gone down. I glanced over at Max as we took our seats and she gave me a weak smile. She was as happy about the situation as the rest of our family was. "Hang in there, Maxie."

"Will do," Max said. We sat there patiently until the trainer came in and gave us our assignments for the class. Max and I took out a couple of textbooks from the bookcase near the back of the room and sat back down in our seats. "Nothing says fun like reading about stuff that we already know about."

"No offense," I said. "But even your sarcasm is falling flat today."

"None taken," Max said. She sighed dejectedly as she turned the page of her book. "I'm trying to keep my mind off of what the guys are probably going through as we speak, even with what interference Mia can run. Ugh." She shook her head. "This crap is giving me the mother of all migraines."

"Well, then, you're not exactly in the right class. You would be better off in field med. Maybe you should even go to the infirmary to get something for that migraine of yours. Then again, since you're so smart, you should be able to figure out what to do about it." You were the one who wanted a distraction, Max. She and I turned our heads to see 591, the asshole from Syracuse, smirking at her. Ever since that first time that we had field med here, he's been an annoying bastard, emphasis on both words.

"Look who's here," Max said sweetly. "It's nice to see you again, 591, now can you actually mind your own business? I've got a lot on my mind. That tends to happen when one of the soldiers who is under your command is sent to Psy Ops. Besides, I'm not in the mood to kick your ass." Max paused. "Yet."

"Really?" 591 said. He snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah, it would be 493 that you're talking about. Am I right? I didn't know that he was under your command, but you're not exactly the warm hug-and-share kind of person, 452. That's got to suck for him. Ouch." I practically saw the steam coming out of Max's ears. Not good.

"Let's settle down here," I suggested. As much as I wanted to see Maxie beat the hell out of 591 or as much as I wanted the honor for myself, we were still in class and I didn't want at least Max or I to get into major trouble. "We need to be focusing on our assignments right now, not on antagonizing each other."

"Good call, 417," Max said. She gave 591 one more glare for good measure before she turned back to her book. "What do you think possesses him to be such a moron?"

"I don't know, but I'll let you know if I ever get the answer," I replied. I opened my own text back up and started to read again. I actually managed to focus on my assigned reading and once that had been completed, I returned the book to the shelf and went to one of the supply cabinets to retrieve some equipment and I set the box down on the desk and began to take the rifle parts out and started to assemble them. I heard a curse behind me and I stifled my grin. Guess you're not as big of a hotshot as you claim that you are, 591, aren't you?

"Number one is done," Max said with satisfaction about a minute later. I looked over and saw that she had indeed finished putting her first rifle together. I looked down at my half-completed firearm. How does she do that? She saw the look on my face and smiled. "Chill, Jack. I think only one or two other people finished their first rifle out of the box."

"True," I conceded. I continued to work on mine. "The trigger assembly on this new model is so damn complicated that I'm surprised that an ordinary could even put it together, much less have designed it." I snapped the final part into place and sighted with the gun. "Perfect." I set the assault rifle down on the ground against the desk and I reached into the box to gather the parts for the next one. "I'm willing to bet that they're using us like an assembly line for these things."

Max laughed. "That wouldn't surprise me either. Heck, it's a different way for us to be used. Gotta give them points for creativity even if it's still scummy."

"I can't wait to find out what they're going to come up with next," I deadpanned. That got another laugh from Max and I smiled as I continued to put the gun parts together.

"Isn't that sweet?" 591 said sarcastically. "The little runt is making his C.O. laugh. It brings a tear to my eye."

I frowned. Okay, I might be only five-seven, but I'm sure as hell not a runt. I'm almost as sensitive about my relative lack of height as Elle, who's barely five feet tall, is about hers. This was one of the few ways to get me to lose my cool. I could almost feel Max's reassuring yet warning look on me as I turned around to face 591. "Actually, she's only the second-in-command in our unit and squad. She mentioned that fact to you once before, don't you remember? And I'm not a runt. Especially where brain size is concerned." I turned back to the unfinished rifle. I think that I made my point nicely, but have you ever noticed how some people don't like to let things go?

"Ooooh, I'm scared," 591 said. "Go shut up." I shut up because it's in my nature to take the high road in situations like this, but even I couldn't resist giving the asshole one more glare for good measure before getting back to work. I guess Max decided that she needed more of a distraction from her problems because she decided to take up the slack. I didn't mind. I was starting to feel my temper slipping and I needed a couple of minutes to get it under control.

"Listen, 591," Max said. "I'm going to be nice and give you a final warning. You are going to behave like a good little soldier. If you still feel like getting an ass kicking from either 417 or myself, we both have some free time before lights out tonight and we would be glad to do it then. Good-bye, thank you for playing, and don't let the door whack you in the ass on your way out." She turned around and got back to work. "Jerk." She gave me another look. "You do need to be a little less sensitive about your height, Jack."

"I know that," I said. "I'm working on it. I didn't really lose my temper. It was close, but I didn't really blow it." Max nodded and we continued to work on putting more of those rifles together for the last fifteen minutes of class. I guess 591 had enough or Max intimidated the heck out of him because he left us alone. We were out of there when the bell rang and we headed to the central courtyard to meet up with Jondy, Syl, Wayne, and Krit. When they met up with us, I carefully looked around before giving Jondy a quick kiss. "Hey, sweetheart."

"Hey, babe," she said. She saw Max looking at us and smirked. "Jealous, Maxie?"

"Yeah, I am," Max said honestly and Jondy's expression went straight to sympathetic.

"Relax, it won't be too much longer before the boss is back from France," Wayne said. We headed back inside of the building and to the cafeteria. Wayne's expression grew serious. "Has any of you heard anything more about Ben and Alec and how they're doing?"

"No, but Mia's going to try to be able to get away from her duties to give us an update on them before lights out," Max said. We went inside the cafeteria and got onto the food line. "I hate this crap."

"What is the oh-so-illustrious know-it-all complaining about now?" 908 turned from her place in the food line directly ahead of Max to give her the most condescending smile that mankind has ever known. "Could she be com—"

"Zip it before I zip your mouth shut, 908," Biggs ordered from where he stood a couple of people ahead of us in line. "If you don't think that I don't mean it…"

908 shook her head. "Excuse me for taking some pleasure in something for once in my life, 511. Isn't that what you and 121 and…_494_…have been riding me to do for most of the last fifteen years at least? It figures, I'm actually listening to you for once and you go right around and tell me to do the exact opposite. What a damn hypocrite." She grabbed a tray and then took a plate of something that looked vaguely like some kind of meat and mashed potatoes. "Either get your message straight or don't bother speaking to me."

"Believe me, I don't want to be speaking to you," Biggs assured her as he took his tray of food and left the line. Instead of sitting down at his usual table with his unit, he sat down at our table. I nodded to myself as I got my own tray and what passed for tonight's dinner. Smart guy. As soon as I was done, I went over and sat down next to him. Jondy sat next to me a moment later and the rest of the gang that was present had joined us soon after that. "This feels like a damn vacation to me. Any time I can get away from those jerks that I call most of my unit feels like paradise."

"I guess that they're taking the news about Alec and Ben a little too well," Krit observed.

Sasha, who had just sat down next to Rena, snorted. "That's a nice way of putting it. I don't think I've ever seen 908 look so happy. Hell, I don't think I've ever seen her look happy at all before this morning for as long as I can remember. It's scaring the living daylights out of me." She gave the salad on her tray a vicious poke with her fork. "I wonder how she would feel if 786 or 714 had been taken off to Psy Ops for what appears is going to be a long stay. And on that note, you'd think that 908's sidekicks would have just the tiniest bit of compassion for Biggs and me since 908's had at least two stays in Psy Ops that I would define to be long-term, but nooooooooo."

"I wish I knew what to say," I said, shrugging. "I guess some people are just beyond comprehension, no matter how hard you try or want to figure them out."

"Doesn't stop me from wishing sometimes that I could," Biggs admitted. "You specialize in strategy and tactics, Jack, don't you? Would you mind helping a buddy out?"

I couldn't help smiling a little bit. "I'd love to help you if I could, Biggs. Unfortunately, most of the strategies that I have that has to do with your motley crew include 'How to Avoid 786,' 'Ways to Turn Down 786,' 'How Not to Throw Up Around 714,' 'How Not to Piss Off 237'…" That got a laugh from Biggs and my brothers. My smile grew. "Seriously, I'll let you know if I ever come up with anything."

"Would you mind sharing with me your plans for not throwing up around 714?" Gale asked. "Holy hell, I had to run the assault course this one time a couple of weeks ago and she was in that group and she was flirting with this one guy and she just kept on making the most inane comments and flipping her hair over her shoulder and checking to see if those dumb barrettes of hers were still in place. I thought that I was going to hurl until the trainer finally got there."

"I guess Elle isn't the only one who hates Evil Elle with a passion," Wayne said. "I don't know who hates who more, Elle and Evil Elle or Alec…" He trailed off and we fell into an uncomfortable silence. "…well, never mind."

"It's okay," Biggs said, though his voice still sounded strained. "I just—" He stopped talking when he heard a commotion from nearby and he sighed in frustration, though his expression looked somewhat relieved. I guess Max isn't the only one who needs a distraction right now. Biggs turned around in his seat to look behind him at where his unit was sitting. "237, 665, 013, will the three of you please leave 859 and 295 be? 859 and 295, the reverse applies to you guys as well. Either get handles on yourselves or march your asses over to the brig to cool off."

"You're not sitting here this afternoon," 786 sweetly. "That means that you don't tell us what to do right now."

"Yes, it does because I'm still your acting C.O.," Biggs reminded her. "786, I'm being generous and letting yourself and 908 handle the rest of the unit over lunch. If the two of you can't keep everybody under control, then 121 and I can easily sit back down with all of you as usual. Which would you rather have? Myself and 121 sitting with you or not?"

"Not," 786 sneered. "Don't worry about a thing, 511. I can keep everybody in line and keep them from…" She smirked. "…_really_ misbehaving like a certain commanding officer of ours." She laughed, turned back to the rest of her unit, and snapped something at the guys that had been misbehaving.

"They're worse than children," Max said.

"Oh yeah," Sasha agreed. "They're just a bunch of little playground punks. When the good kid goes down, they have to laugh and laugh and laugh about it like they had something to do about it when they only thing that they had anything to do with is acting like a bunch of pu—" Rena gave Sasha a reassuring pat on the shoulder and she calmed down. "Sorry about that. They're pissing me off more than normal."

"Understood," I said. "Believe me."

"I'm so damn stressed out, I just want to hit something. Anything," Rena said. She clenched her fists. "I don't care what it is. I'm beat the shit out of a punching bag, another X5, a trainer, you name it. I don't care if I'd get into trouble, I just need to let this steam off so badly."

"Don't worry," Max said. "We all have martial arts next on our schedule. You'll get your chance to get some of this load off of you." She smirked. "I've got a feeling that the infirmary is going to be busy this lovely evening. What do the rest of you guys think?" We laughed.

"I'm glad that we don't have that class with you," Biggs said, smiling for the first time during dinner. He turned as if something had caught the corner of his vision and I turned to see what had gotten his attention and saw another male X5 entering the cafeteria late. This guy didn't seem to be too bothered by that fact. He actually looked incredibly smug. I looked back at Biggs, whose expression had gone dark again. He made a fist with his right hand and smacked it into his left palm. "Yeah, the infirmary will be busy all right."

"What gives?" Brin asked. "What's your beef with that guy? Who is he, anyway?"

"He's X5-513," Biggs said. "And according to what Sasha and I were told earlier this afternoon, he was the one who planted the bomb that critically injured Alec's girlfriend. I might actually have let that slide if he wasn't acting like he's the damn king of the world. What a prick."

"You're going to want to smack me for saying this, but he hasn't actually said anything yet," I said, wincing in anticipation. "Until he does, hating his ass is just a waste of your energy. He isn't worth it, at least not yet."

Biggs took a deep breath. "You've got a good point. Thanks."

"No problem," I told him. I turned back to my food. Yeah, I did have a good point. Now all I have to focus my energy on is getting through the day…and trying not to worry so much about Ben and Alec. I reached underneath the table to squeeze Jondy's hand. This wasn't going to be easy, but we'd get through it somehow. Somehow.

TBC


	44. Chapter 44: Rena X5 120

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 44: Rena (X5-120)**

I sat down on my bunk and stared at the door. It's been a few weeks since Ben and Alec had been taken away and it hasn't gotten a single bit easier for me. I know that sounds kind of selfish, but screw you. I know damn well how fucking hard it is for the two of them and it's killing me to think of it.

I sighed and tried to blink away the tears in my eyes. Yeah, I'm a royal mess. I'm not afraid to admit that. But what the hell am I supposed to do? It's not as if I hadn't had loved ones sent off to Psy Ops for long stretches of time before. As much as I tease Syl, it was still hell when she got a month in Psy Ops years ago when Dash had died and then months after that when they threw Zack in there for three months after Unit 7 tried to run. This time, it feels different. It feels worse. Not that it didn't feel horrible when Syl and Zack had been in there in Wyoming way back when, but…

"Knock, knock." I smiled slightly when I heard Jondy's voice outside of my cell. I could hear another person beside her and I'm willing to bet said other person was Maxie. "Can we come in?"

"I'll come out and join you," I said. "I need to get out of this hole in the wall." I got up, opened the door, and walked out. Yep, it was Maxie that was the other member of Jondy's cheering up squad. "Hey, you guys. What's going on?"

Jondy shrugged. "Not a whole lot. Just killing the time until lights out. I think I might get some sleep tonight. I haven't gotten any…" Jondy mock glared at me. "…_sleep_…in nine days. I'm all up for an hour or two of it."

"Why would you think that I would say something, Jondy?" I asked innocently.

Jondy pretended to think about it. "Well, you might be right. It's not as if my name is Syl."

"You guys are a riot," Max remarked. She looked up at me and her expression softened. "Holding up, big sis?"

"Somehow," I admitted. The good mood was cool for all ten seconds of it. "It's crazy, this is nuts, and maybe I'm losing it. Maybe I should be…" I couldn't continue talking. Boy, am I one heck of a mess. "I just…" I looked down almost desperately at my sisters and I only saw sympathy in their eyes and I knew that I didn't have to explain anything if I didn't want to. They knew why I was feeling this way. They knew me better than anybody except maybe Sasha and…and Ben.

"Hey," Max said softly. She hugged me. "It's going to be okay, Rena."

"I love him, damnit. I love him," I cried. I was barely aware of Max tightening her hug and Jondy putting her arms around the two of us, offering her support as well. I'm in love with Ben. Do you have a problem with it? I'm in love with somebody wonderful who's getting tortured as we speak. I fell as hard as anything for the man who knows me better than any of our brothers and sisters. The same person who knew how to cheer me up and keep me going during hard times. Yeah, I know I'm being all mushy but I don't care. It's the honest truth. It was why I never really felt jealous of Max and Zack, Jondy and Jack, Sasha and Kenny, or Tinga and Biggs…because I was in love myself.

"We know," Jondy said softly. "We know how you're feeling."

"It's not evil to feel like hell and beyond because the guy that you love is going through what Ben is," Max said. We released the group hug and stood looking at each other. "You can tell us anytime it gets overwhelming, Rena. Anytime."

"I just want him to be okay," I whispered. "That's all. I mean, it's not as if I don't want Alec not to be okay too and I know that he's going to have it even worse or longer at least no matter what, but I just want Ben to be okay."

"If God forbid they ever took Jack away to Psy Ops, I'll be the one that's climbing the walls and randomly freaking out," Jondy promised. "I guarantee that. Just have faith, Rena."

"I'll try my best," I promised. We paused when a lab tech approached us and told Max to haul ass to Director Renfro's office, not in those exact words of course. Once Max had followed the man over to the evil bitch's lair, I stretched my arms. "I should try to get some sleep. Maybe a good night of it will help me get my head together."

"Good call, big sis," Jondy agreed. She gave me a hug. "Stay with it, Rena. It won't be long. I'll see you in the morning."

"You too, Jondy," I said. I went into my cell and lay down on the bed. I could hear my other present brothers and sisters get to our block and into their own cells one by one and then the lights went out. I turned over onto my side and stared at the wall. Jondy was right. Besides, every day that goes by means that it's another day closer to when Ben, and Alec as well, will be out of Psy Ops. I snorted and closed my eyes. Boy, did I sound nauseating. I must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing I knew, I was sitting straight up in my bunk and feeling startled as hell. I heard a noise and let out a sigh of relief. It was somebody, Max by the sound of it, knocking at my door. "What is it?"

"I've got a surprise for you," Max said mischieviously. I narrowed my eyes. I knew that tone of voice too well. Luckily, I haven't been on the wrong end of it too many times. When Max sounded like that, it meant that she had accomplished something that…I suddenly bolted from by bunk and threw open the cell door. There he was. Standing right next to Max and looking as if he'd been through the mother of all wringers, was Ben.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hey," I repeated. Max walked away and the second that she had gone, I pulled Ben into the cell and into a hug. Oh man, I didn't want to let him go. I tried to open my mouth and tell him how much I had missed him, but I couldn't say a damn thing. I was too overwhelmed to speak. He was here…he was safe. It was what I had been wishing for.

"I missed you," Ben finally said.

"I missed you too," I said. "Thank goodness that you're okay." I finally pulled back a little bit and managed to hold back a frown. I wanted to beat the living hell out of those assholes that had given Ben that haunted look. He was fighting in—good for him—but he was still freaked as hell. Those fuckers. "Are you really?"

"Eventually yes, debatable right now," Ben conceded. "Jesus, Rena, it felt like they were trying to crack my brain open with a pair of pliers. If that's what they'd done to me, what on Earth are they still doing in there to Alec…" He couldn't finish and I just hugged him again. "If it wasn't for Mia, I would have completely lost it."

"Don't forget the thank you note," I said, trying to make the mood a little bit lighter. Ben needed it and sure enough, I got a smile from him. I looked deep into his hazel eyes and for a moment I held my breath and we seemed to be moving ever so closer towards each other. Inch by inch, closer, closer, almost…

"Holy crap, did I just hear Ben?" Yep, there's Krit's unbelievable timing asserting itself. We moved apart and got up and walked over to my cell door. Ben turned around and we looked at each other for a moment and gave each other a little smile.

"Just as well," he said.

"Yeah," I said. It really was just as well. As bad as Krit's timing might have been, it was probably also incredibly brilliant. Jumping right into something romantic with Ben immediately after he'd been sprung from Psy Ops was not number one on the smart things to do list. I really didn't mind. What Ben needed right now more than anything was support to get over what had been done to him and to keep him going until Alec was finally kicked loose. After that was over and done with and hopefully both he and Alec would be back to their old selves, then we would take our relationship over to romantic. I looked into Ben's eyes again and I knew that he was thinking the same things that I was. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, another smile, and then left my cell. I smiled again before I went back to my bunk, crawled in it, and fell asleep.

TBC


	45. Chapter 45: Zack X5 599

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 45: Zack (X5-599)**

I saluted the trainers that had debriefed me and left the room. Once I was out of earshot, I sighed. Being back at Manticore after a few months away was hard, even though those months were spent on a mission for them. It could be worse. Despite all the crap, I was coming back to Max and the others and that counts for more than I can say.

I turned the last corner before reaching my block. I opened my cell door, walked in, and dropped my bag on the bunk. Before I could do anything else, I heard Max walk in, put her hands on my shoulders, turned me around, and pulled me into an amazing kiss. God, I love her so much. When we finally parted, I was smiling. "Hey, Maxie."

"Hey, Zack," she said. "Welcome back."

"Thank you," I said. I saw the slightly hesitant look in her eyes and narrowed my own. Something big had happened while I was away in France and I had a gut feeling that I was going to hate whatever it was. "Tell me, Maxie."

"You asked for it," Max said. I moved my duffel down to the floor and we sat down on my bunk before Max told me exactly what had happened while I was gone. I was shocked. It takes a lot to shock me, but this did the trick. The shock didn't last for that long, and I was absolutely pissed when it had passed. Why did I even feel surprised that Manticore would drop as low as to throw Ben into Psy Ops when the reason why they had put Alec there was questionable at best? Max caught the look on my face and quickly filled me in about Mia and what she had done to get Ben released early and what she was still doing for Alec. "Ben seems to be doing okay all things considered. Rena especially is helping him get through this."

"I'm glad," I said. I thought of something and looked at my watch. 2355 hours. "Have everybody meet me in the closest rec room at 0030 hours. I've got something that we all need to see."

"Gotcha," Max said. She started to get up but stopped and gave me another kiss. "I missed you so much, Zack. I love you."

"I love you too, Maxie," I said softly. I pulled her into another kiss. God, I wanted to do so much more but I heard a guard patrolling nearby and if we got caught, we'd be in deep trouble. I reluctantly pulled away from Max. "I'll see you soon." I watched her leave the cell, stretched, and began to unpack. I might as well use the time before I wanted to meet with everybody productively. Getting my things put away didn't take too much time, though, so I sat patiently at my desk once I was done. At 0020, I stood up and slipped what I wanted into one of my pants pockets before quietly leaving the cell. I went over to the rec room and waited as Max, our siblings, Becky's siblings, plus Biggs and Sasha filed into the room.

"Where's Becky?" I asked.

"Somewhere in Russia," Kevin said. "She got sent out there a few weeks ago. She's going to have to check in here every couple of weeks so she might be back here soon enough for a few days before she goes back to freezing middle-of-nowhere again."

I nodded. "Gale, Jack, Brin, Suzanne, Felicia, Ralph, Brent?"

"All out on missions," Matt said.

"So, big brother," Wayne said. "What's the reason behind this little get together?"

I reached into the pocket and withdrew the two cell phones that I had put in it before I'd left my cell. "This is the reason."

Krit whistled. "Whoa, Zack. That's a hell of a lot of balls to sneak cell phones into here."

"I know," I said. "That's why I only snuck in two." I looked around at everybody. "I got these phones in case of emergency. I know that it's probably a useless gesture because even if somebody is out on a mission and runs into trouble, the odds are slim to none that one of us will actually be able to go out and assist, but these could also be used for one of us here to warn somebody else that is out about something that's happening and vice versa. I had a stopover at the old Syracuse facility on the way back here and I actually had a day to go into the city itself. That was when I got these." I gestured to one of the phones. "I wish that I could have picked up one of these for everybody, but that would have been far too great of a risk. We're going to have to work out who should use these phones and when depending on who gets sent out where, for how long, and what the mission involves."

"That's not a bad idea," Tinga said. She took one of the phones and examined it. "This looks pretty good. I'm assuming that it's got excellent encryption on it to begin with or are we going to want Parker and Xavier to play with them first before they're put into use?"

"Let me see it," Parker said. Tinga handed him the phone and he gave it a more thorough visual examination. "Hmmm…yeah, this is an excellent model. Give me and Xavier a day or two with them and we'll tighten the encryption so well it'll be absolutely impossible to crack."

I handed Parker the other phone. "Here you go, little brother. Do your magic."

"Thanks," Parker said. He handed the phones over to Xavier so that he could have a look at them as well. "We'll let you know when we're done with them."

"Excellent," I said.

"That is a hell of an idea, Zack," Ben said. "How did you come up with that one?"

I shrugged. "Random chance, actually. I was out on the street in Marseilles one afternoon a few weeks ago waiting for my target so that I could tail him when he went to his next appointment when I saw this woman standing on the street corner. She took out a cell phone and called somebody and it turned out that she was checking up on her young son at home and that was when the idea hit me."

"Sometimes strokes of brilliance happen at the most random of moments," Zane said.

"Are you turning into a philosopher, Zane?" Wayne teased.

"Yes, just like you're turning into a genius," Zane said.

"According to my 187 IQ, I already am a genius," Wayne said smugly. I mentally rolled my eyes. Here we go again.

"I bet you really missed this, huh, babe?" Max whispered teasingly. I couldn't help laughing a little.

"Yeah," I said. I really did miss this.

TBC


	46. Chapter 46: Jace X5 798

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 46: Jace (X5-798)**

"Never forget how tensions run high in these kinds of situations," the trainer lectured. Yeah, I know that and so does everybody else here, including the idiots in the back that are badmouthing the trainer under their breath. "Any one of you might be sent out there if the situation heats up enough, so keep everything that I have said in mind." The bell rang and I held in a sigh of relief. "Okay, soldiers, dismissed."

I saluted the trainer and got out of the classroom as quickly as I could without looking too obvious. This guy bored the living daylights out of me and judging from the reactions of everybody who'd been getting the same lecture on current events that I'd been trying to stay awake through, they'd had trouble keeping their attention focused on the trainer as well. This guy could put the X7s to sleep in a heartbeat. He kind of reminds me of some of the trainers from back in Wyoming that didn't come over here when we did. I guess if you want to be a trainer here at Manticore, you must be either boring, sadistic, or both.

"Hey, there." I looked up and saw Max waving me over. Rena, Ben, and Krit were with her. "How did your lecture on what's happening in the outside world go?"

"To put it mildly, it was relaxing," I said. "How did it go over on the assault course?"

"Pretty good," Max said. She made a face. "I did have some trouble going from the barbed wire to the wood wall so Rena and Ben actually beat my time for the group we were in."

"What Maxie here forgot to mention was that Rena and I were the only people in our group to top her. She's being just a tad modest," Ben said. He looked smug. "Though I've got to admit, it sure is nice having the top time on a course."

"You only beat my time by two hundredths of a second," Rena said, though her eyes were sparkling. "I'll beat everybody next time out. I can guarantee that."

"I'll hold you to that," I remarked. "I'm scheduled to run that course tonight after dinner. I'm not sure who's going to be in my group, though." I shrugged. "It should be interesting."

Rena grinned. "Oh, it will definitely be interesting. Sasha told me earlier tonight that 908 is going to be running that course at the same time that you are. Don't forget to stay at least a good couple of yards away from the bitch and keep some kind of weapon handy at all times."

"Thanks for the advice," I said, snickering. We started to walk down the hallway. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"And I don't know what I'm going to do with those two morons," Max said, rolling her eyes. I looked over in the direction that she was peeking at and saw Parker and Kenny standing over by the wall just a few feet from the door to Director Renfro's office. They were pretending to be just chatting, but it was obvious to us that they were eavesdropping. Typical as hell of those guys. They sure loved to be nosy.

"Just do what you always do, Maxie," Krit said. "Give them a good smack upside the head and if that doesn't work, leave them alone in a room with Zack so that he can scare them out of their minds."

"Very funny," Max said. She frowned when Kenny and Parker suddenly froze and momentarily went pale and nervous before returning to their 'chat.' "What the hell is going on?" She moved in front of us, heading quickly to where those two guys were. "Hey, you guys. What's going on?"

"Not much," Kenny said. "I was just waiting to see if I could catch Sasha around and Parker was keeping me company."

"Uh-huh," Max said skeptically. "Whatever. What got you guys so spooked?"

"Spooked?" Parker said, trying to sound like he didn't have a clue what Max was talking about. He didn't do that great of a job. "I don't think that we were freaked about anything."

"Honest," Kenny added.

"Try telling that to somebody who doesn't know you," I said.

"Seriously, are you guys okay? What freaked you out?" Max asked.

"We'll tell you about it later," Parker said. He caught Max's raised eyebrow and smiled. "Really, we will. At least I will. I don't know about Bigfoot over there, but…" He pointed towards Kenny and we all laughed as Kenny mock glared at him. Parker and the other guys had been calling Kenny Bigfoot since before we had learned what Bigfoot actually or supposedly was in Culture class years ago because Kenny'd always had the largest feet in our family. Kenny's size 14 monsters certainly deserve the nickname now, if not back when we were little.

"Hey, does anybody have any toothpaste on them?" Kenny wondered. He smirked. "I'm going to need it for my toes so that I can brush Parker's teeth with them when I jam my foot up—"

"Lovely image," Krit said.

"Thank you," Kenny said.

"Keep it up. Maybe somebody up in the chain of command will decide that you have better futures as comedians than as soldiers," Rena said. "Or even better, maybe instead of sending one or two of us in to bomb some bad guys into pieces, they'll have you guys go in and do a comedy routine and kill them that way."

"You make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, Rena," Parker told her.

"Always a pleasure," Rena said.

"That reminds me, have any of you seen Brin around?" I asked. "I've been looking around for her since after breakfast."

Max's expression darkened. "I have. She was helping a trainer with a group of X9s over at the outdoor firing range right after breakfast and as the trainer was demonstrating a gun, it accidentally went off and hit Brin in the thigh. Did the man have enough common sense to let Brin go to the infirmary so she could get patched up? Nope. He _insisted_ that she stay and help out for the entire length of time like she had been assigned. She was standing there bleeding like hell and in all kinds of pain for close to two hours before she could get treated." She sighed. "Zack told me what had happened and I was able to sneak in a quick visit with Brin over in the infirmary right before I headed out to the assault course."

"It's truly amazing how considerate they are around here," Kenny said. His eyes took on an odd look briefly before he put on a smile. "I say screw them." He caught Max's eyes and rolled his. "For the last time, Max, I'm fine and details will be coming later."

"Yeah, in about ten years," Ben quipped. He exchanged high fives with Krit and Parker and Kenny grinned.

"Technically, that is later," Kenny said proudly.

I shook my head. "I am so glad that I'm not in charge of you. Correct me if I'm wrong, Max, but do you ever feel more like a handler than a sister with these losers?"

"That's my world and Zack's too," Max agreed. "Take a look around and enjoy your stay."

"Wait a second," Rena said. She pointed at Kenny. "He has a girlfriend who has him so tightly by the balls that I'm surprised that they haven't lost circulation to the point of falling off yet. Where is my twin when you need her?"

"For the record, Sasha is not leading me around by the genitals," Kenny protested.

"He's right," Krit said. I saw the impish look and mentally prepared myself for the comment that was coming. "From how I've seen the two of them around each other, it goes both ways. She's got him by the good ol' boys and he's got her by—" He stopped and ducked, just missing the playful swing that Kenny had taken at him.

"Boys will be boys," Max observed.

"I guess growing up is optional when you have a Y chromosome," I remarked. I shrugged and continued on with my siblings.

TBC


	47. Chapter 47: Brin X5 734

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.) and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 47: Brin (X5-734)**

I've never really like the month of March. I don't know why. You'd think with Spring starting and everything that it would be a great month, but not really. Maybe that comes from growing up where I did. Spring always seemed to start a little bit late back there.

I looked out the windows of the library, shook my head, and tried to focus back on my work. I was scheduled to go out on a solo mission in a few days. I'm only scheduled to be gone for a week, but I still had some planning that needed to get done before I would go for my final prep work the day before being deployed. Luckily, I was not alone in my relative misery. Everybody in my family who wasn't currently out on a mission, and only Jondy and Ben were out and about, were there doing their own work, plus Alec, Biggs, and Sasha's unit, though Biggs himself had gotten called from the library a few minutes ago, a unit of X6s, and two full units of X8s were in here as well. Good thing this place is bigger than the one in Wyoming.

"Anything new out there or is it just the same old trees, the same old trainers, and the same old drills?" Reese teased.

Does this guy really have an IQ as high as the rest of us? "Yes, Reese, there's a cloud out there that's the same shape of your head, except that it somehow looks smarter."

"Leave her alone," Elle, who was also sitting at the table with Reese and me, insisted. "You should be talking. Don't you have your own work to do?" She rolled her eyes and turned her head to look at me. "Are you okay, Brin? Is something going on?"

"No, nothing's wrong," I assured her. "Everything's cool. I don't know, maybe it's the changing of the seasons and all of that." I shrugged. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. Back to work." I turned to my papers. "Elle, If you were out in the middle of Vancouver and you had to infiltrate a group of university students to gain access to a professor who both our government as well as the Canadian government suspect of selling nuclear information to a wide variety of terrorists, what would you think is the best method of getting in with them?"

"You're acting like you've never infiltrated a group of people before, Brin," Reese said, pretending to be shocked. "My goodness. Does Director Renfro know?"

"R—552, how about you be quiet," I hissed. Trainer walking by, ix-nay on the names for the time being. I let out my breath out of reflex as he passed by our table. "I do know how to infiltrate a group of people about our age and if you would look to the other side of the table, you would see that I've got several possible ideas that I have written down based on the intelligence that I was given. It never hurts to get ideas from somebody else, especially if they turn out to be better than what you have." I smirked. "Got any bright ideas?"

"Something's got your panties in a twist," Elle said. "You're not normally this testy. I know it's not seizures, illness, or heat, so what gives?"

I shrugged again. "I've never really liked March. So, do you have any ideas, Reese?"

"I don't know, I was distracted." Reese was staring at Elle's chest. Wow, he can be such a hormonal kid sometimes. "You've got something on your shirt. Can I brush it off for you?"

"That's awfully nice of you to offer to do that for me, but no. Look-ee, no touch-ee," Elle said sweetly. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Reese pouted. "Be nice."

"I don't feel like it. While we're on the subject of other people's ideas…" Elle twisted around to look at the next table over. "Hey, Max, can you give me some advice? There's this guy…say, for example, the moron sitting in front of me, who wants to put his hand up front where it's not wanted. If he actually managed to accomplish this action, what should I do to him?"

"Hmmm, good question," Max said. She grinned cheerfully at us. "You could grab his wrist or wrists until you hear some bones breaking, you could grab his wrists and then headbutt him, you could slap him in the face…or you could knock his ass to the floor, step on his _twig_ and berries, and crush 'em like you're a lab tech putting out a cigarette before going back on duty." Elle and I looked at each other, both of us having a hard time stifling our laughter at how Reese suddenly found the library floor extremely interesting.

"Thank you very much, little sis," Elle said.

"Anytime," Max told her.

"Don't feel too bad, 552. If that prude won't let you have any fun, you can always come to me." Guess who?

"How kind of you to offer, 786," Reese said pleasantly. "If I didn't have any sort of taste, I would take you up on it. Thanks, though."

"Why do I even bother," 786 muttered. She gave Reese, and then the rest of my brothers that were there, a long visual appraisal. "So much deliciousness, so little brains."

Max's eyes narrowed when she saw 786's eyes sweep across Zack. "Get the hint, 786. Or did you miss the lesson when you were a kid that said that persistence can be a valuable asset, but only until you realize that you can't win and have to execute a tactical retreat? Then again, tactical retreat would imply that you actually have a chance to win later. I would call this running the hell out of here with your tail between your legs."

"You need somebody to correct your attitude, little girl," 908 said haughtily. I've got to give the psycho some credit for coming to her friend's defense. "Say your piece and be done with it."

"I tried that. It didn't work," Max informed her. She turned back to what she was doing.

714 stopped what she was working on and gave Max a dirty look. "Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps you weren't worth listening to?" She tossed her hair, gave Max a condescending smile, and turned back to her friends.

"Has it ever occurred to you that you might need your head examined, too?" Max retorted.

"Time out," I said. "If we don't quiet down soon, those two trainers who happen to be at the other end of the library right now are going to head back this way and we are going to be in loads of trouble."

"You are so pathetic," 967 said. I guess she just couldn't resist jumping in. I didn't even spare her a glance. "I can't believe that such a pathetic little bitch can---"

"Am I interrupting something?" I straightened up. That innocent-sounding but incredibly mischievous voice could only mean one person. I looked up and towards the door and sure enough, Alec was standing there, that grin of his plastered across his face. Biggs was just behind him, looking similarly amused.

"And you would be here because…" 908 trailed off.

"Because they released me from Psy Ops, 908," Alec said. "What do you think? Does three months in there do a body good?" He struck a pose and I couldn't help giggling. Thank goodness Psy Ops didn't destroy his sense of humor.

"How dare you," 908 said.

"I aim to please," Alec laughed. He greeted Sasha and spent a few minutes talking with her and Biggs before making his way over to me and my siblings. After a little while, he sat down at my table. "How are things going?"

"Not too badly," I said. "They tell you that Ben's out on a mission right now?"

"Yeah, I've been told," Alec said. He looked a little disappointed. "I wish that he was here right now, but that's how things go. How soon is he getting back?"

"A couple of days," Reese said. "It's just a quickie."

"You seem to be doing pretty well," Elle said.

"I don't feel all that shabby," Alec agreed, but I could almost see the shadow pass across his eyes and I bit my lip. I guess even Psy Ops couldn't make you forget something like that. "It'll take a heck of a lot more than three months in Hell, U.S.A. to put me down."

"Are you sure that you're okay?" I asked. He was clearly in pain over what had happened on his mission.

"Always," Alec said, but as soon as Reese and Elle were occupied with arguing with each other again, he briefly shook his head and I reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. He gave me a grateful look. I guess it helps when you've got somebody that you don't have to bother pretending anything with, you know what I mean.

Reese suddenly looked up and smiled mischievously. "Do you two need to find an empty cell?"

"Oh…my…God," I said slowly, releasing Alec's hand and shaking my head.

Alec laughed. "Thanks, you guys. Gotta continue making the rounds." He got up and moved on to another table.

"You're immature," I informed Reese.

"You wouldn't have it any other way," Reese said before turning back to Elle and resuming their argument. I sighed, shook my head, and returned to my work.

TBC


	48. Chapter 48: Mia P2 400

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 48: Mia (P2-400)**

I read over my notes and smiled. Things have definitely been better for me since Alec had been released from Psy Ops three days ago. I really feel as if a weight the size of a boulder had been lifted from my shoulders. I was also pretty happy that I didn't have to be on duty in over there today. I'm really enjoying the time to focus and brush up on my other skills. It might have taken a little bit longer than the X5s because I had to train my special skills and use them in Psy Ops, but I was considered to be as trained as they are. I hoped that maybe I would go on an actual mission one of these days. It's not as if I haven't been on missions before, but for most of them my purpose was to perform field interrogations. One time last year, I had been a last-minute replacement for an X6 that had been scheduled to go out with his unit to destroy a rebel military compound in Columbia, but had suffered an injury two days before they were supposed to leave and couldn't go so they threw me in. It was fun! I did end up having to perform a field interrogation just by chance, but I actually got to go in and take part in serious military action! I did really well.

"P2-400?" I looked up from my notebook and saw a guard standing next to me. This was odd. "Director Renfro needs to see you in her office immediately."

"Yes, sir," I said, giving the soldier a salute. I put my notebook down on the table and marched out of the library, curious like you wouldn't believe. I really hope that I won't have to go work in Psy Ops today after all. What would Director Renfro want with me? I reached her office and saluted the guards outside of her door. "The director wants to see me. I'm P2-400."

The guards returned the salute and opened the door. "Go right inside." I marched inside and to my surprise, saw Max standing at attention in front of Director Renfro's desk. The director herself was behind her desk, holding a mission folder. I managed to contain the sudden surge of butterflies in my stomach and saluted her. "P2-400 reporting as ordered, ma'am."

"Both of you, at ease," Director Renfro ordered. Max and I stood at ease and then she began talking. "The two of you will be sent out on a mission to metropolitan Seattle. Cale Industries, a company specializing in high-end computer equipment and sophisticated technology-based equipment such as the hoverdrones that are in use in the city, has provided us with several important upgrades for our equipment, including one that we received only last month. Currently, they are working on an improvement to their line of computer chips that we are very interested in and are in negotiations on a deal for. The acquisition of these new chips would mean a vast improvement in the computer systems here and as such, we want to make sure that everything runs smoothly and that _nothing_, and I mean nothing, goes wrong either with the production itself or that it be threatened by others. 452, 400 will be accompanying you on this mission because in addition to her unique skills, she tested extremely highly in both espionage and infiltration." She handed the mission folder to Max. "Your objective, as I stated before, is to make sure that everything runs on schedule. If production is threatened, take whatever steps are necessary to rectify the situation. All the information that you require is in the folder and the two of you will be deployed in three days. Do not forget to report in for your final preparations immediately after breakfast in two days' time. Dismissed."

Max and I left the office after giving Director Renfro one more salute and she started to walk back in the direction of the library with me. "I'm glad that you're going to be on this mission with me," she said. "Just from what Renfro said, it sounds like it's going to be boring as hell. Another person will at least give me somebody to bitch to." She shrugged. "Then again, it's not like anything that comes out of Renfro's mouth sounds fun. She could make a Mexican vacation sound like the world's biggest chore."

I laughed. "You hit the nail on the head. I'm happy that I'm actually going out on a real mission where my primary function won't be to perform a field interrogation. I don't think that I'll mind the boring parts too much, at least at first."

"I hear ya," Max said. "I'm gonna need to drop this off in my cell and then I've got to meet the rest of my crew over by the obstacle course. All this and I still have to make my run on it. I'll meet you over by Computer Lab A at 2130 hours and then we'll find a spot to sort through this stuff. Does that work for you or do you need a different time?"

"No, that will be fine," I said. "I might be a minute or two late meeting you because my last activity gets out around then, but it'll work well enough." I smiled and waved as we reached the library. "I'll see you then, Max."

"See you later, Mia," Max replied.

I don't know how I managed to contain my smile and my news though the rest of my time in the library and through lunch as well, especially considering that several of the P1s eat lunch at the table that I do, but I did. I guess that I should be happy that they like to give their brains a rest during meal times. After I finished my less-than-thrilling sandwich and juice, I headed down to the gym with a couple of other Psy Ops soldiers for a workout and to keep my martial arts skills sharp. Once the trainer was satisfied that we had warmed up sufficiently, he split us into different pairs and ordered us to spar while he walked among us to see what, if anything, we were doing wrong. I ended up being paired with P2-575 and he and I got to work immediately. We were relatively silent for a few moments as we traded blows until 575 spoke up.

"I heard that you had been summoned to Director Renfro's office," he said. "May I ask what that was about?" I kept a smile off of my face. I should have known that I wouldn't be able to get through the rest of the day without at least one of my fellow Psy Ops transgenics questioning me about my little trip to Director Renfro's office.

"You may, 575," I answered graciously. I ducked a kick and did a leg sweep, sending him to the ground. "Director Renfro is sending me on a mission with one of the X5s."

575 flipped himself back up and we circled each other. "That's interesting. Which X5 will you be deployed with?"

"X5-452." I took a half-step back to avoid a punch before moving in close and landing a few punches of my own. A kick to the stomach had 575 back down on the mats. "We'll be leaving for our target in just a few days."

"Lucky you," 575 gasped.

"P2-575! Get your ass up off that mat right now!" the supervising trainer yelled. "How many times have I told you that just because you're technically not an X-series is no excuse for you not to be on point? Move your lazy rear end over to the side right this instant!" He pointed to the other side of the room where two pairs who had finished their rounds were standing and nodded to me. "Excellent job, 400. You may wait with the others."

"Sir, yes, sir!" I saluted the trainer and marched over to where he had indicated. I calmly watched the rest of the pairs finish up their rounds, and we were dismissed soon afterwards. The rest of the day seemed to go by quickly and it was time for me to meet Max in the computer lab we'd agreed on practically before I knew it. I quickly made my way over there, opened the door, and nodded in greeting when I saw her sitting at one of the computers. "Hello, 452."

Max didn't blink an eyelash at my use of her designation rather than her name. The trainer that I'd spotted close by in the lab was in her field of vision as well. "Hello, 400. I'm glad that you were able to make it." I walked over and took a seat at the terminal next to her. As soon as the trainer was out of earshot, Max dropped the formality like a brick. "What's up, Mia? Ready to look over this stuff?"

"Absolutely," I answered. "What do we have?"

"Well, behind door number one…" Max said as she opened the mission folder. "Okay, looks like we have two primary targets here." She took out a photo of an older man and handed it to me. "Numero Uno: Jonas Cale. Co-owner and CEO of Cale Industries. To his credit, he likes to take a pretty active role in the running of the company and thanks in large part to him, Cale Industries has been making obscene profits over the years, even after the Pulse. He's the one responsible for pushing the upgrades that Renfro wants us to baby-sit." She shuffled through some of the papers in the folder. "I'm going to guess that the basic idea with him will be to get close to him to get information and maybe keep him sweet if necessary. We'll find out if I'm right or not when we hit mission prep in two days." She made a face. "If they ask me to cozy up to this guy and he turns out to be another fifty-something horn dog, I'll just kill him and make something up to Command."

"Have you ever encountered somebody like that on a mission before?" I asked.

Max shrugged. "Yeah, once. It could have been worse. It was only a guy in a bar that I was at because I was tailing my target around." She looked back at the folder. "Our next contestant is Logan Cale, Junior, the other co-owner of Cale Industries, and nephew of Jonas Cale. Unlike his uncle, Logan does not have any actual daily role within the company. As a matter of fact, he's a freelance journalist, graduated with honors with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from Yale in May of 2011, and more or less lives off of the family money. He only inherited his half of the company when his father, Logan Senior, died about sixteen years ago."

"Is there a picture of him?" I asked. Max nodded and handed me another picture. I accepted it from her and looked at it quizzically. "He's pleasant-looking enough for an ordinary, but if he's as rich as I think that he is, shouldn't he be able to afford a decent barber? I've seen some X-series males with hair that's in a similar style, but those guys look better with that hair than Mr. Cale does."

"Good call," Max agreed, taking the photo back from me and getting a good look at it herself. The man in the picture was a nice enough looking guy in his early thirties with glasses and spiky hair that looked somewhat unkempt. "The reason we have to watch Junior is not necessarily because he's co-owner with his uncle, but because the older Mr. Cale has mentioned in casual conversation that his nephew is rather, to use a quote that's attributed to Jonas, 'liberal.' You know, kind of like those hippies that we'd read about in American History back when we were little." Max shrugged. "I guess that would explain the hair." She grinned and I giggled. "So basically, Renfro and company are worried that Logan will try to make some noise to get this thing stopped."

"It seems pretty straightforward so far," I said. "Hopefully when we're done with mission prep in a few days, it will still be that way."

"Oh yeah." Max nodded in agreement. She started to say something else, but stopped when she saw a group of transgenics enter the lab. "Do you wanna move this somewhere else?"

"Yeah, it's starting to get a little crowded," I said. I got up and followed her out of the room. "I hope this mission goes well."

"I don't see why not," Max commented. "We go in there, make sure everybody behaves like adults, then blaze when it's done. We can pull something like this off in our sleep, Mia. Well, you can in your sleep because you're the one who actually gets that. It'll be a snap."

I grinned. "Absolutely."

TBC


	49. Chapter 49: Zack X5 599

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 49: Zack (X5-599)**

Free time is something that you learn to treasure pretty quickly when you've lived your entire life at Manticore. I was lucky enough to have some free time before lights out, so I planned on going back to my cell to just think. Max was going to leave on her mission with Mia tomorrow morning and it would be at least a couple of months before she would be returning back here. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I guess the jury's out on this one, Jack, Ben, Kenny, Alec, and Biggs caught up with me as I was heading back to the block and talked me into playing some pool with them. We managed to grab a free table in one of the rec rooms and divided ourselves into two teams. Kenny racked up the balls and I took the first shot. I sunk two balls on my first shot. Not bad.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Are the rest of us going to get a shot in or is it going to be the Zack show?"

"We'll have to see," I muttered, already concentrating on my next shot. I frowned when I missed and stood back to let Alec take his shot. "Damn. I thought that I had that one."

"Hey, if you're mind is somewhere else because you're not looking forward to Max going away on her mission, that's understandable," Jack said. "She'll be okay. It sounds like a fairly easy assignment to me."

"It doesn't sound too difficult to me, either," I agreed. I shook my head and watched as Alec missed and stepped aside for Kenny. "I'm just not looking forward to having her gone for such a stretch. The soonest that computer chip will be ready will be four months from now, and that's being optimistic. Max and I talked to Parker about the mission last night and he said that based on the blueprints for the chip and what work has been done so far on it, that it's more likely that the assignment will run for twice that length of time."

Kenny sank his shot and winced. "Ouch, bro. That's not going to be fun." He leaned down to line up his next one, but he looked up and grinned. "How much property damage do you think that Max has caused by now?"

"Beats the hell out of me," Ben said, shrugging. "But when they announce that the punching bags in the gym will be unavailable for a couple of days because they've all been shredded, you'll have your answer."

"On one hand, Max is lucky enough to get out of here for a good stretch," Jack said. "No offense, Zack, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do," I agreed. To be away from Manticore, even if it's on assignment, is a great thing. Damn, if only it didn't mean this time that Max and I would be apart from each other. "No offense taken."

"Damn," Kenny swore as he missed his next shot. He stepped aside for Biggs. "I was really cleaning up, too."

"And I never thought that I would see the day when you'd actually do really well at pool." Alec, Biggs, Jack, and Ben laughed when Kenny jumped in response to Max's question, causing his shot to go wild. Even I couldn't help chuckling. Max reached up and patted Kenny's shoulder. "Don't worry, Kenny, I'm sure that it happens to lots of guys."

"What, missing shots?" Kenny said, trying to recover his cool.

Biggs smirked. "I think that she was referring to having the living shit scared out of you by a girl."

"Time out, guys," Jack said, holding his hands in up in front of him. "Maxie, are you done with your prep work?" When Max nodded in response, Jack turned to me. "Zack, why don't you and Max go have some alone time?"

"Good idea," I said gratefully. "Thanks, Jack."

"Um, Jack? Remember the game that we've got going?" Kenny pointed out. "Ben and I are going to be short-sided if we continue to play without Zack."

"Don't sweat it, Kenny," Ben assured him. "Even without Zack, the two of us can still beat the daylights out of Alec, Biggs, and Jack with our eyes closed." His expression brightened as Rena entered the room. "And it might not have to be the two of us, after all. Hey, Rena! I've got a proposition for you."

"Shall we?" I asked Max. She nodded and we left the rec room and walked back over to my cell. When we reached it, we went inside and I shut the door behind us. "How did it go in mission prep?"

Max shrugged. "Same old, same old. Mia and I are set to go tomorrow. All I've got to do tonight to get ready for the mission is to pack what street clothes I've got except for what I'm going to be wearing tomorrow."

"What sort of gear will you be taking?"

"Standard stuff for an assignment like this. A couple of firearms, nothing too fancy, laptop loaded with the right programs, that kind of dealio," Max replied. She grinned. "And in addition to the car that Mia and I'll be driving to get there, we're also each taking a motorcycle."

"Did you manage to reserve the Kawasaki that you used on your last mission or no?" I wondered.

"No," Max said, aggravated. "Some stupid X6 on his first solo assignment snagged it. Oh, well. That's how it goes. The bike that I signed out will do nicely."

I nodded and pulled Max into a hug. "I'm going to miss you so much, Maxie."

"I know, baby," Max said softly. She tightened her grip on me. "It already hurts. We'll be back together again before too long, Zack. It's going to be okay."

"It better be," I murmured. I buried my face in her shoulder and just breathed deeply. God, I was going to miss her. There was nothing that I wouldn't do for this woman. I lifted my head and looked Max in the eye, tenderly moving a stray curl away from her face. "I love you, Max."

"I love you, Zack," Max breathed. I gave her a long, deep, tender kiss before pulling her back into an embrace.

"Whatever you do, stay safe," I instructed. "Come back in one piece."

"Consider it done," she promised. She reached up, framing my face with her hands. "No matter what, Zack, I will come back to you. I love you. I'm yours."

"And I'm yours," I swore. "I love you, Maxie." I leaned forward and captured her lips in another kiss.

TBC


	50. Chapter 50: Max X5 452

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 50: Max (X5-452)**

I adjusted the strap of the duffel bag that I was carrying and exchanged nervous looks with Mia as we rode up in the elevator of the apartment building that we were staying in for the duration of our mission. The 'movers,' a.k.a. Manticore ordinary soldiers with nothing better to do, had already brought in the furniture and sensitive equipment, plus they put our motorcycles in the secure underground garage. Mia and I had just gotten here ourselves with some clothes and other things. Months away from Zack, my family, and Manticore…it felt surreal on so many levels.

"Finally," I muttered as the elevator reached the second of the two penthouse levels. Mia and I left the elevator and walked down the hall to the door to our place. I took my key from one of my jeans pockets and opened it. When the two of us walked inside, I couldn't hold back a whistle of surprise. "Wow. Talk about a one-eighty from our accommodations back home."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Mia said. The place sure was set up nice. I couldn't think of a single item in the apartment that didn't cost more than the average yearly income of some random person, which isn't too high of a bar these days. Mia ran her hand over the large couch in the living room and giggled. "An actual leather couch. You've got to feel this, Max."

"Sure." I walked over to the couch and put my hand on the armrest. I couldn't help smiling myself. "You're right, Mia. That is pretty sweet." I set down my bag and sat down on the couch, waiting for Mia to park herself on it before continuing to talk. "So, here we are in Fogle Towers, Penthouse Apartment 2B. Got an old lady across the hall from us in 2A, a family directly below us in 1B, and down in 1A is our second target. I say we start scoping him tomorrow, once we've gotten a chance to settle in here."

"That sounds good to me," Mia said. "But what if he comes by first? The profile that we were given of him suggested that he was a, as one of your sisters once described somebody with a similar personality, 'goody-goody.'"

The doorbell rang and I got up to answer it. I took a look through the peephole. Mia was right on the money. It was Logan Cale. I turned my head to look at my mission partner. "You are a P2 and not a P1, right?" Mia laughed and I opened the door. "Hi, can we help you?"

"Hi, my name is Logan Cale," he greeted us. "I live downstairs in Penthouse 1A. I heard that there were people moving into this apartment and I just wanted to welcome you to the building." He held out a plate. On it were a pile of chocolate chip cookies that looked and smelled absolutely fantastic. "Here. I made them myself."

"Thank you," I said. I turned around and set the plate down on the coffee table. I walked back to Logan and offered my hand. Human Etiquette 101: When meeting somebody for the first time, offer a polite introduction. "I'm Erica and this is my roommate, Marie. Nice timing. We literally got in here a couple of minutes ago. Were you watching from your window with binoculars or something?"

Logan laughed and looked at me. I got a distinctly uncomfortable feeling when he did. "No. I saw the moving trucks pull into the garage out of my window as I was having breakfast early this morning. I figured that you had come along with them. I didn't know that you'd only just arrived now."

"Logical assumption to make," I conceded. "We thought about getting here with the trucks, but we decided not to because it would just be too much of a mess with us trying to get things organized and the movers."

"That's understandable," Logan said. He smiled. I faked one back.

"Where are our manners?" Mia exclaimed. "Come on in, Mr. Cale. I'm afraid that the most we can offer is tap water or one of your cookies. They look absolutely yummy, by the way. Did you really make them yourself?"

"Please, call me Logan," he insisted. "Unfortunately, I've got some work to do in my home office, so I really need to get going. It was nice to meet you, Erica, Marie." He looked at me, gave me another smile, and left. I shut the door behind him and shook my head.

"Didn't like him," I declared.

Mia raised an eyebrow. "With the way that he was looking at you, I'm not surprised. He didn't seem to be mentally undressing you, but he's definitely at least got a crush. What are you going to do?"

"Considering that I'm the one who's going to be primarily keeping tabs on him while you're working the uncle, I don't know." I groaned, flopped down on the couch, and grabbed one of the cookies. "I guess I'll have to play friends with him. Maybe if I'm lucky, he'll drop the crush on me." I took a bite of a cookie and nodded approvingly. It tasted even better than it looked and smelled. "Looks like I've got a reason to pretend to be friends with him: free food."

"Especially with the way that you cook," Mia teased.

"Seriously, though, what's your read on him, aside from the crushing on me thing?" I asked.

Mia looked thoughtful. "He seemed like a polite enough man. I don't think that we have to worry about him being a pervert or anything of that nature. His body language came across as somewhat nervous, but that could have been due at least in part to the effect that you were having on him. That's the best impression that I can get considering that I'm a P2 and not P1. It wouldn't have made sense for me to do my thing and ask him to tell us his life story, at least not yet."

"Good call," I agreed. "And on that note, it's time to check in with base." I went over to my purse and took out the cell phone that I had been given before Mia and I had left Manticore earlier. I hit a number on speed dial and waited for somebody on the other end to pick it up.

"This is Control, identify yourself."

"X5-452 reporting as ordered, sir," I said, rolling my eyes. I hate playing Goody-Soldier-Two-Shoes. I waited while the guys in Control got their heads out of their butts and looked up my mission specs.

"452, what is the status of yourself and P2-400?" Control finally asked.

"We have successfully arrived at our accommodations, sir," I replied. "Once we have settled in, we will initiate contact with Logan Cale, Junior." Mia looked amused at my little white lie and I shrugged. So what if I lied? Like I ever get the opportunity to lie to Manticore and get away with it clean.

"Excellent," Control said. "Do so, and do not forget to report in every forty-eight hours. Control out."

"X5-452 out," I said. I disconnected and rolled my eyes. "Morons. It's not a total lie, really. All I did was fudge the order in which we're gonna get things done."

Mia grinned. "This is going to be an interesting assignment with you, huh?"

"You haven't seen anything yet," I promised. "Let's scope this crib."

TBC


	51. Chapter 51: Becky X6 405

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

Notes: Spoiler-ish stuff for "Designate This."

**Chapter 51: Becky (X6-405)**

I couldn't help feeling triumphant as I marched out of the room once my debriefing had finished. My first solo assignment was not only in the books, but it was a complete success. I'd been one of the first X6s to be assigned to a mission by his or herself, definitely the first female X6 to go, and I think mine was the longest so far, even counting when I had to travel back here to Seattle every couple of weeks to check in. My brothers, especially Kevin, are just going to say that it's my urge to overachieve rearing its ugly head again. Well, they will if they're here. I wonder if they're around or if they've been sent out on missions since the last time that I'd had to check in. I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Suddenly, I had to quickly step aside when an X3 nearly ran into me. The woman stopped and glared at me.

"Excuse me, do you mind not being in everybody's way?" she snapped. "Go march your little ass someplace else."

"No," I said coolly. I looked her in the eye and the X3 shrank back a little. Once us X6s take and pass our solo tests, we would be considered to be ranked even with the X3s and X4s, and since I was at the top of my unit and squad and I knew that this woman was neither, I outranked her and we both were aware of that fact. I wonder what could make her forget, and explain her bitchy attitude. "I was not in your way. You were not paying attention and almost walked right into me. I will not report you for your conduct towards a superior officer, but I will if you act this way towards me again. Understand?"

"Affirmative, ma'am. It will not happen again." She gave me a quick salute before marching off, obviously still agitated.

I continued on my own way, frowning to myself. This was not good. My eyes darted around, taking in the other transgenics that passed through the hallways. Most of the older ones were tense in one degree or another, but not in the typical way a Manticore soldier usually is. Damn, it's too bad that my family's apparently out on a training exercise out in the North woods and won't be back until just after lights out, which is about twenty minutes from now, but I can wait. I've always been patient.

"405!"

Maybe that won't be necessary. I picked up my pace until I met up with Tinga a little further down the hall. "656. Is there something that you require?"

"Yes, 405, there is." Tinga looked around and leaned forward and lowered her voice until only the two of us could hear it. "Something major's happened. We're meeting in the library at midnight so we can fill you and the other young ones in on what's going on. Can you do me a favor and let them know about the meeting?"

"Sure, Tinga, of course I will," I assured her.

"Thanks, Becky. You're the best," Tinga said. When somebody came close to us, she nodded and I saluted Tinga and continued towards my block. I went inside my cell, unpacked my things, and lay down on my bed, still fully dressed. A couple of minutes after the lights had gone out, I could hear my family approaching the block, so I got out of my bunk, left my cell, and stood outside my door to wait for them.

"Becky?" Jeff asked. "What's going on?"

"I ran into Tinga after I was done with my debriefing. We're meeting the X5s in the library at midnight," I replied. "It's urgent."

"Got it," Jeff said. He and the others went into their cells and I went back into mine. Ten minutes later, we all met up in the hallway and quietly made our way to the library. Tinga, Zack, and the rest of their present brothers and sisters were already there and Alec, Biggs, and Sasha arrived moments later. None of them looked happy. In fact, they ran the range from terrified to flat-out pissed. Zack, who was on the angry end of the scale, stood up and paced.

"There was an assembly this morning for the X3s, X4s, and X5s before Becky got back from Russia and the rest of you from your training mission," he began. "Renfro told us that there were problems with what was supposed to be the X10s. All the latest tests showed that there were problems with the base X10 DNA that were apparently irreparable for the foreseeable future and since the committee wants new soldiers, they're going to get them like normal people get children." Zack's hands clenched into fists at his side and I could feel the anger in me start to surge. I had a feeling where this was leading. "There's going to be a breeding program for the older transgenics starting tomorrow."

Unbelievable. Those sick, twisted motherfuckers. A breeding program? Who the hell do they think they are? Who do they think _we_ are? We sure as hell aren't mindless animals, as much as we pretend to be sometimes to shut them up. We—oh crap, the X6s aren't going to have to participate in this, are they? Are we?

Suzanne read my mind. "It's only going to be the older transgenics, right? Not the X6s?"

"No," Tinga assured her. "At least for now, the X6s aren't going to participate in the breeding program." That's a relief.

"Are they mixing it up or is it X3s to X3s, X4s to X4s, and X5s to X5s?" Matt asked.

"They're not going to try for hybrid X-series kids," Elle said. "The lowdown is that we're going to be assigned a breeding partner at some point along the line and the guy is supposed to report to the girl's cell every night until the girl gets knocked up. Renfro will ask us every day if we got it on the night before and us women get pregnancy tests every week. The women all had a class tonight about pregnancy and what we should expect to happen over the nine months."

"Nine months?" Maggie repeated. "Transgenic pregnancies last for nine months? How do they know that?"

"Good ol' trial and error," Parker spoke up, sounding disgusted. I don't blame him. "They might have bailed on the idea of having a breeding program with ordinary soldiers years ago, but that didn't mean that they still weren't curious about what would happen when female transgenics were pregnant. They conducted this program at the Syracuse facility two years before all three of the facilities were integrated, which is why none of us heard about it before I found it in our copy of the database recently. They got sperm samples from a few of the X3, X4, and X5 men and artificially inseminated some of the women in the corresponding generations. All resulted in successful pregnancies, and each of those lasted nine months, give or take a normal human variation of a couple of days or weeks. Every one of those children were born as healthy as an X-series usually gets and half of the births were multiples, all fraternal and mostly twins, but one of the multiple births was triplets. Gotta love that feline DNA in us and the X4s and that canine in the X3s, huh? The X4 kids were born with barcodes, but they faded away within months and neither the X3 nor the X5 children had them at all. Manticore had to give them 'codes after they were born, and re-insert the barcodes for the little X4s."

"What happened to the children?" Layla asked tentatively.

"Oh, it was great," Parker said sarcastically. "They grouped all fifteen of those kids into their own special unit. Baby training was going well, despite the disparate ability levels, until they hit eleven months old. To be honest, the initial incident wasn't Manticore's fault. Well, at least as far as I know it wasn't. One of the nurses who was watching the kids went mental. When Manticore did an investigation after the mess, it revealed that she'd been having some pretty messy problems with her husband and her in-laws at the time. She was threatening to leave her spouse and he threatened right back that he was going to take the children away from her if she did and his parents were backing him up. Anyway, the Psycho Nurse grabbed a gun from a guard and just starts shooting the poor, innocent children. She killed eight and wounded another five by the time she was finally subdued. Three more of the babies died from their wounds within the week." Parker sighed and shook his head. "Of course, the nurse was executed for her break with reality. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one. Since there were only four of the babies left alive when the dust eventually settled, it was decided that the program was no longer viable and…" Parker couldn't finish the sentence. "Jesus, not even a year old."

Nobody could say anything for several moments. How could anybody? We just got thrown further proof of just how low Manticore could get. Murdering innocent toddlers just because… I blinked and tried to keep my face as neutral as possible. It was almost like what had happened to Jeff, Wes, Ralph, Christian, and Layla. If they hadn't been adolescents and had so much invested into their training when their original family had been wiped out, they could have easily been taken out by Manticore. Jeff… I took a deep breath. Calm down, Becky. Focus on the situation at hand.

"When does this begin?" I asked, mentally breathing a sigh of relief at the relatively calm tone of my voice.

"Tomorrow night," Zane answered, giving me a look. He wasn't fooled by my demeanor. Damn, the X5s could always read me. Maybe I am a little too much like Zack sometimes. "The lists of the first couples will be up first thing tomorrow morning."

"Oh, great," Kenny muttered. "Wonderful. This is going to be a fucking blast. Having to have sex with a random woman while some guy is getting to fuck your girlfriend. This is perfect."

"Kenny, calm down," Zack ordered. "First of all, we don't know if you're going to be among the people that are going to be cycled into the program tomorrow. Second, we don't know how the pairings are going to be selected. There's a chance that you could end up being paired with Sasha."

Parker raised his hand, an evil grin on his face. I held my breath. That look usually meant bad news. "Au contraire, brother dear. Your resident evil computer genius has already hacked into the mainframe and gotten all of those goodies. I can tell you right now that the pair selections are going to be made randomly, which happens to work very well for our purposes. What are said purposes? Why, changing around certain pairings so that we get spared the kind of hell that Kenny just described. The pairings for week one have already been set and as of thirty minutes ago, they have been re-set." He nodded towards Tinga and Biggs, who were sitting together. "You guys are going to be in that group."

"Anybody else among us going to be participating in the first wave as well?" Syl questioned.

"Yeah, Sasha and Kenny are set to go sometime this week as well," Parker replied. "To answer the question that you were going to ask eventually, Zack, they're going to pair you and Max when she eventually returns from her mission. I didn't have to change that at all."

"Parker, you're the man," Kenny said gratefully. "We…" His expression went from happy to somewhere between dejected and furious. "We're still going to have to give up our child when the pregnancy is over. All of us will have to."

"Like hell I'm going to give up my child," Sasha snapped. "Does Manticore really think that they'll be able to take our babies away? Fuck, no. That's not going to happen." The other women nodded in agreement. "I won't do it."

"You shouldn't have to," Zack agreed. His eyes narrowed and I held my breath.

"Zack?" Krit asked quietly.

"Tinga, Sasha, Biggs, and Kenny are supposed to participate in the program this week," Zack said. "That gives us nine months to figure out what to do. We're on the clock, everybody." He took a deep breath. "I'll see all of you in the morning." With that, the others made their way out of the library. Zack remained sitting in his chair and I got up and sat down in a chair next to him.

"Zack?"

"I've thought a lot of things about Manticore, Becky," he told me. "First, I didn't know anything else. Then, I figured out what the deal really was but I still went along with it because I knew what would happen if I didn't. Now…if there was one thing that I always wondered, it was what it would have taken to really push me over the edge and want to get away from this place. I mean, part of me has always wanted to run. You know that. Plus, I bet that I'm not the only one of us who's wondered what the breaking point would be, either." Zack sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "This might be it. I just…I can't imagine having a child and giving it up to these sadists. I can't see myself giving my potential children away at all, much less to Manticore."

I nodded. "Zack, if getting out of here turns out to be the only option that your sisters have, then that's what it's going to take. The good news is that we've got at least a couple of months before we absolutely have to have a plan set in stone. We're going to need that time. I've got to figure on Manticore upping the security just incase a three, four, or five woman has a panic attack and decides to take their child or children and run. They've been having the X7s run a lot more seek-and-destroy exercises lately. I wouldn't want to be on the bad side of one of those guys on a good day, much less in the coming weeks and months."

"You're right," Zack conceded. "They'll take us down without a second thought." He managed a smile. "It's a good thing that you're here to help me come up with a plan, though, isn't it?"

"Of course," I said immediately. I returned the smile. "Absolutely."

TBC


	52. Chapter 52: Jack X5 417

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 52: Jack (X5-417)**

"Why the hell are we here?" Ben muttered as he threw his duffel bag onto one of the beds in the bedroom of the hotel suite.

I closed my eyes and prayed for my sanity. "Because we need to find, tail, and then assassinate the German billionaire who's gotten his hands on some of our government's chem warfare plans and his twin sons who are in it as deep, if not deeper, as their daddy. This twins convention is the best chance that the government is going to get at them for at least a year, so here we are."

"But if this is a twins convention, why are you here?" Alec asked, grinning.

I sighed as Ben laughed. The week that this assignment was supposed to last couldn't go fast enough. "I'm here because I'm posing as a volunteer to help keep things running and to take out the father while you guys assassinate the younger guys and more importantly, because somebody back at Manticore finally realized that the two of you can't think worth a damn when you're put together so they need somebody to handle the problems that are more complex than two plus two equals four."

"Of course. How could we have forgotten?" Ben deadpanned.

"That's it. I give up," I declared. I set my own duffel bag near the dressers and sat down in the armchair in the corner of the room. "Let's just get this mission over with so we can get back home."

Alec snorted. "Yeah, get back home to the breeding program."

Ben and I winced and then all three of us were silent for several long moments. I know I have my issues with the breeding program, and I'm reasonably sure that both Ben and Alec have their own problems with it as well. Who wouldn't? I could barely think about it, it was tearing me up that badly. How the hell am I—or any of us—going to get through the next how ever long it was going to last?

"Can't get around it, can we?" I finally spoke up. "The brass can send us on as many assignments as they want for as long of a stretch as they please, but it'll still be there waiting for us when we get back. Damn, this is…it's not going to be fun."

"I think you've just won the Understatement of the Year award, Jack," Ben said dryly.

"No shit, Sherlock," I snapped. I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Ben. I didn't mean to bite your head off like that."

"No offense taken," Ben assured me.

I shook my head. "I know that I don't have to worry about Jondy being paired up with another man because Parker is going to get into the system and tweak things there. That's not the problem. My God, I'm going to have to make a baby with the woman that I love more than anything in the world and have to give said child up to the people that I hate the most. How the fuck can I look at myself in the mirror everyday if and when I do that?"

"Then don't, man," Alec said.

"Give my not-yet-conceived child up to Manticore or look at myself in the mirror everyday?"

"Neither."

Ben looked skeptical. "Are you being serious, bro? Don't get me wrong, I completely understand where you're coming from. I hate this situation as much as all of us do, but is it at all possible for us not to give up our kids to the assholes who made our respective childhoods a living nightmare? Yeah, Zack said that he would try to think of some kind of a solution. Yeah, I believe Zack and I would trust him with anything and everything. I think, though, that we might have found the one problem that even Zack can't find a feasible way out of."

"I am being serious. At least, I think that I am." Alec shook his head. "I don't know. My head's still screwed up from everything that's happened to me over the past couple of months." He snorted. "Now here's something to get my mind off of my own lovely set of troubles, huh? Have sex with a random woman every damn night. Talk about getting thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire. There's nothing like Manticore's solutions to life's problems."

"If you want Parker to get somebody in particular assigned to you, he'll do it," I reminded him. "It won't be a problem for him. At least, it shouldn't be."

Alec shook his head. "I know, but it's okay. Maybe it's for the better for me if it's somebody that I barely know. I'll take my chances with the breeding partner lottery."

"Why are they assigning people randomly?" Ben wondered. "I would have thought that they would try to assign people together to get certain specialties out of the children. Put an infiltration specialist together with another infiltration specialist, explosives with explosives, that kind of thing. That doesn't make too much sense."

"Who knows?" I said. "Maybe they realized that we don't always turn out quite the way that they had originally intended us to."

"What do you mean?" Alec asked.

"Take Rena and Sasha, or Rena since she was the one who was originally engineered and Sasha decided to surprise everybody by existing," I said. "They were designed for speed, but they turned out to also excel in stealth, escape and evade, and they both ended up as snipers. You guys were designed for infiltration, but you're also stellar at hand-to-hand, stealth, and speed, among other things. Zack, Becky, and Jeff were all engineered to be hand-to-hand specialists, but all three of them are fantastic across the board. They made us to be one way and we turned out at least to some degree another." I smirked. "Not just in our skill sets, either."

"Who knew that 786 would turn out to be a super slut?" Alec agreed.

"Or that Xavier would be an X-Men fan," Ben added.

"Or that Jondy would have weird taste in coffee." I chuckled. "I love her more than life itself, but I will never understand how anybody can like French Roast Nut coffee. What's worse is that Wayne has similar taste and his idea of trying to get me to taste some was one morning he'd switched the cup of regular that I'd grabbed at breakfast with a cup of his crap that he'd made the night before when he'd had kitchen duty because he'd gotten caught by some guards trying to prank Zane that afternoon."

"That was when you'd dumped the cup into his lap last year, wasn't it?" Ben recalled, laughing. "Oh, to see the looks on everybody else's faces when sweet Jack poured a cup of scalding hot coffee right onto Wayne's lap. The bastard wasn't walking right the rest of the day. Alec, if you hadn't been out on a mission when this happened, you would have just cracked up seeing Wayne trying to fake marching correctly or trying to participate in martial arts. It was the best."

"It was that bad?" Alec said, laughing.

"It was," I confirmed. "Wayne was fine by the next day, thank goodness." I couldn't help chuckling at the memory. I'd been in a rare bad mood that particular day and Wayne just happened to pick the wrong time to pull a prank on me. Under normal circumstances, I would have laughed it off or maybe, at worst, encouraged one of my other brothers to pull a prank on Wayne that he'd already been planning.

Ben's smile slowly faded from his face. "I wish that this could last, you know?"

"Here, here," Alec agreed. "Hold that thought." He walked over to where he'd put his bag, unzipped it, and pulled out a bottle of alcohol and a box. He handed the liquor to Ben, opened the box, and pulled out three glasses from it. "Just a little thing I picked up when we were wandering around in the city killing time before it was check-in time here."

My eyes widened when I recognized the label on the bottle. "Holy crap, Alec, you stole this? This scotch normally costs at least two hundred dollars a bottle."

"I didn't steal it," Alec insisted. He grinned wickedly. "I liberated some rich idiot of his wallet, went into the liquor store, and bought the scotch and set of glasses legit. Well, relatively legit." He took the bottle back from his twin, opened it, and poured each of us a glass of the alcohol before raising his up in a toast. "Here's to us taking a breather before going back into the lion's den."

"Here, here," Ben concurred.

"I'll definitely drink to that," I said. I clinked my glass with my friends' and downed the scotch. We need a breather. A long one. I'd thought that the week couldn't go fast enough before, but it really couldn't go slowly enough for me.

TBC


	53. Chapter 53: Max X5 452

Disclaimer: The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Max, Zack, Jondy, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Elle/X5-164, etc.).

**Chapter 53: Max (X5-452)**

I'm not happy. Actually, I'm a couple of years beyond not happy. I'm ready to tear somebody's head off...or if it was Zack, lock myself in a room with him, and...you guessed it, boys and girls. I'm in heat. I'm almost done with this round, thank goodness. Those ordinaries don't know what they're missing. Nothing says fun that being ready and willing to jump any male in the immediate vicinity every three months...or, if you've found your guy like I have, rock his world until...you know, a cold shower sounds great right about now.

"Okay, where the hell is the shampoo?" I muttered. Over the past month, Mia had absolutely fallen in love with this herbal shampoo that we'd found in a local supermarket when we'd gone shopping there our first day on this assignment. I've got to admit, it really makes my hair look and smell great. But, since both of us like to use it, the stuff doesn't exactly last very long in the crib. I sighed in exasperation when my search came up empty. Yep. Out of shampoo. Note to self: tell Mia to get more when she gets back from work. I turned around and frowned when I heard footsteps in the hallway and then a knock at the front door. Whoever it was had the world's crappiest timing. I really did not want to be bothered by anybody. "Who is it?"

"It's just me." I groaned. Wonderful. "Can I come in?"

"No, not really," I informed him. "This is a bad time. I'm not feeling well."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Logan said sympathetically. "I'm just going to be a few minutes, though. I wanted to drop off those CDs that Marie wanted to borrow."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and counted to ten. He probably did have the CDs of his that Mia wanted to listen to, but he wanted to be around me and he was way down on my 'People to See' list right now. The jerk better make it quick. "Fine, give me a moment." I walked into the living room, opened the door, and stepped aside so Logan could come in. "There, door's open."

Logan looked mildly surprised as he entered the apartment. "That was a little rude, Erica."

I shrugged. He thought that was rude? It was painfully obvious that he'd never seen Zane, Krit, and Wayne goof around with me, Rena, and Jondy. Either that or he was just plain stupid. "Sorry. I told you that I'm not feeling well and I'm not the greatest person to be around when I feel like crap."

"You look pretty good to me," Logan observed.

I tried not to bang my head against a wall. Lovely. Have I ever mentioned that ordinary men can be affected slightly by the pheromones that I give off when I'm in heat? It doesn't affect them nearly as much as it does an X5 male, but it's enough to make guys a little bit hornier than usual. "Trust me, Logan, I'm running a fever, I'm achy as hell, and I'm nauseous." A little more time around you and that last one won't be a lie. "I'm sick."

"I'm sorry," Logan apologized. He set down the CDs that he had with him on the coffee table. "I didn't mean to be rude myself."

I wonder if he realizes his talent with backhanded apologies. "No harm, no foul. Can you please leave? I don't want to get you sick."

"I'll be fine. I drink my orange juice and eat my spinach," Logan said. He smiled and I tried not to groan out loud. Did he really think that was funny? "Really."

I coughed. "Excuse me, I need to get myself a glass of water."

"I'll get it for you, Erica," Logan offered.

"It's okay, Logan, I can get it by myself. I feel like shit, but it's not as if I'm on my deathbed."

"It's not too much trouble," Logan said. "I was getting thirsty, anyway."

"Well, you can come in the kitchen with me," I finally said. "Just grab one of the bottles of water in the fridge, though. Just in case."

"Sure, no problem," Logan agreed. He gave me a smile, which I tried to ignore, and followed me into the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge while I helped myself to a glass of tap water. "How has your job been, Erica?"

"It's good," I told him. I was supposedly working nights as the manager at a major nightclub over in Tacoma. I actually wasn't, but Logan didn't need to know that. I hoped he kept this conversation to inane crap like this. "It's never boring, that's for sure. I'm just happy that my dad was able to find me this job. I love that kind of excitement, you know what I mean?"

"I could never work that late at night," Logan commented. "I'm not sure how you can do it at all, never mind for the past two weeks. And at that club..." He shuddered. "No offense, Erica. I've never been that into the club scene."

I shrugged. "None taken."

Logan set his water bottle down on the kitchen counter. "I've got to use the bathroom. Do you mind if I use one of yours?"

I started to tell him to take the two minutes to go down one floor and use one of the toilets when an idea occurred to me, so I shrugged and smiled a little instead. "Yeah, go ahead. Use one of the two hall bathrooms, though. Don't use the one in the master bedroom 'cause that one's mine."

"Sure. Thanks," Logan said.

"No problem," I assured him. I kept the smile on my face until he went inside one of the hall bathrooms and shut the door behind them. I quickly opened a door underneath the sink and reached inside a container that was mounted near the side of the cabinet. I pulled out a vial, uncorked it, and poured its clear contents into Logan's open bottle of water. What did I add to Logan's water? Well, Manticore had tried to come up with a suppressant for us women that we could take if we went into heat while out on assignment, but they couldn't get it to work for all of us, so instead they always gave us a little something that when given to some poor guy or girl, causes flu-like symptoms within eight to twelve hours, thus backing our story about having the flu. It's tasteless and odorless and doesn't get somebody deathly ill. I don't like to use it, but I had to in this case. Okay, maybe I was a little less reluctant than normal this time. Hey, Logan's personality clashes a little bit with mine on a good day and being in heat makes me irritable as hell, especially with Zack not around. I wish... I abruptly turned back to the sink and splashed cold water on my face. Shampoo or not, I was definitely going to take that cold shower as soon as Logan left. I quickly disposed of everything and made sure nothing looked suspicious and nodded towards Logan when he came back into the kitchen. "Glad to see that you didn't fall in the toilet."

"Excuse me?" Logan said.

I shrugged. "The damn thing's so tall and with those claw feet, it kind of reminds me of a lion ready to bite your ass off."

Logan laughed. "I know what you mean. My aunt and uncle have one like that in one of the bathrooms in their mansion. When I visited them with my parents when I was little, I would tease my cousin about it all the time." He picked up his water bottle and drank some more of its contents. "That hits the spot. Thanks for this and letting me use the bathroom, by the way."

"No problem," I told him. I sighed and rubbed my forehead, feigning a headache. "Logan, I'm really sorry, but I think I'm going to lie down now. Do you mind?"

"I understand." Logan took a swig from his water bottle. "Is it okay if I take this with me?"

"Be my guest," I said. "I'll see you later, Logan."

"See you later, Erica." He gave me a smile and I managed to fake one back. He left the kitchen and left the apartment. I heard Logan greet Mia as he walking towards the elevator and I finally let my breath out when I heard the elevator door close and Mia enter the apartment.

"Max? Where are you?" Mia wondered.

"Kitchen," I replied.

"Oh." Mia walked inside the kitchen and set down a couple of grocery bags on the counter. "I got out of work early today, so I stopped at the supermarket on my way back here. I saw Logan in the hallway. You let him come inside even though you're in heat?"

"I'm taken, remember?" I pointed out. "Besides, I gave him a dose of Instant Flu."

"You love Zack that much?" Mia asked. She smiled. "You're really lucky, Max."

"I know," I agreed. "God, I love Zack so much. I miss him like crazy. I wish that he was here and that we..." I paused and felt my face flush. "You get the idea."

Mia reached into one of the bags and handed me a new bottle of shampoo. "I saw that we were out this morning before I left."

"Thank you," I said gratefully. I grabbed the bottle and headed straight for my shower.

TBC


End file.
